Information

Aryssius has a minion!

Thalassion the Crownfang

Aryssius
Legacy Name: Aryssius

The

Scribble Experiment #886
Owner:

Sebyashka

Age: 14 years, 2 months, 1 week

Born: March 1st, 2010

Adopted: 12 years, 11 months, 4 weeks ago

Adopted: May 10th, 2011

Statistics

Level: 45
Strength: 17
Defense: 16
Speed: 20
Health: 26
HP: 26/26
Intelligence: 30
Books Read: 25
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Womens Specialist

CREDITS

profile template (c)

helix (get it)
Fonts from Google Fonts
Background image by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash

Snout up!

come back soon, i'm a work in progress!

The story you are about to read may (probably) contain historical inaccuracies, as oral tradition has a way of becoming exaggerated: plots twisted, embarrassments omitted, details embellished. However, this story is (for the most part) true to the events that took place. Recorded by Machus, Aryssius's only son, as he tells it to his son, Ari. Contains clarification and story breaks in brackets.

"Well, Ari, both our lives started when Poppy decided to settle down…"

'Cap'n! Land ho!' Yani the arid serpent called down from the crow's nest. He slithered down to the ladder to deck, where the captain had already appeared. Yani nodded gruffly to her, then turned and pointed to the southwest, where the faintest outline of mountains broke the monotony of the ocean lapping at the boat. Actually, Yani didn't point so much as stretch out his wing. Semantics don't make much sense when you don't have hands. [“Daddy!” Ari reproaches.]

They were joined by Aeolus the hydrus ontra and Elias the graveyard xotl, both of whom had paused in their duties on-deck to survey the distant mountains, and both of whom could probably point much better than Yani. ["Cut it out!" Ari, annoyed.] But that's not the point.

Captain Charis put her front paws on the railing and raised her head, scenting the briny air. She looked out over the sea and nodded slowly, before zeroing in on the landmass they were slowly approaching. It was the southernmost tip of Shadowglen, their next destination. Of course, all of Subeta had already been explored by the time Charis was born, but she had always been a ‘nosy pup' with a 'yearning far b’yond her years', as her father fondly recalled when we first met.

'So, uh, Cap’n... we stoppin’ in Shadowglen for more’n a few days?'

This was Elias - who would ask, seeing as their chosen port was his hometown. He was probably anxious to see his family, the ol' kumos...uh, xotl. An excellent worker, but a family-man at heart. I still don't understand why the captain kept him for more than six moons...[A deep, annoyed sigh, clearly from Ari, and Machus rushes on] but I'm getting off-track again.

The captain was silent for a moment, and when she spoke, she didn't answer the question. Instead, she commanded the rest of the crew topside. The sailors dispersed and returned to find that their Quartermaster, Aryssius, had collapsed onto the deck. It was hard to tell that he had collapsed, because, y'know, he was a scribble, but...

[Ari whines. "Daddy, stop!"
"What are you talking about, Ari? I'm just telling it like it was."
"No-ooh", Ari giggles, "you keep adding your own stuff to it! Just tell it like Poppy used to tell it!"
Machus sighs, heavily. "How do you know Poppy didn't tell it like this to me? Now hush."]

'Cap'n, what happened?''Get Doc!' 'What can you see?' 'Haul him to his quarters!'

The last shout was dismissed by Aryssius, who was struggling to sit upright. His blue-gray skin had yellowed, giving him a literal green tinge. His jewel-green eyes were tinged with dark phlegmy streaks of yellow. The skin over his organs was bruising, blooming purple against his yellowing skin. His constant companion, Thalassion, nervously flicked his tail back and forth, pacing restlessly across the deck.

Doc Bailey, a marsh kerubi, trotted out onto deck with her aide and supplies. Assessing the situation, she helped Aryssius to sit up and lean back against the platform where the wheel was located. She barked orders at the rest of the crew - minus her aide - to get back to work, and to get them to the Shadowglen port, posthaste. Thalassion made himself comfortable on the deck next to Aryssius, who rested a tentacle on him protectively.

Now, they all knew better than to interfere with the doc. She might've been shorter than almost all of them, but she had earned her place as doctor time and again. She rarely raised her voice – she rarely had to. She could command the sailors as well as the captain. Even the captain retreated to her quarters.

Doc Bailey was alone with Aryssius when he rasped, 'This is torture. Am I going to die?' She tutted, and shook her head. ‘Quartermaster, you know better than that. Why would I leave you in the clutches of this disease when I can keep you around to boss about like a child? No offense, dearie,' she added as an afterthought to her aide, whose eyes widened nervously. His Crownfang gave a hissing purr, almost as though he understood the conversation and was glad his owner would make it.

Aryssius, eyes still phlegm-shot, asked again, 'Do you know what it is?' Doc Bailey remained quiet, and he sighed heavily. She took his temperature, checked his other vitals, and had him perform some basic movements. Heavily and with lack of finesse – two words that rarely seem to describe translucent, virtually weightless creatures, mind you - he performed the actions asked of him, before sinking once more to the deck, his colors shifting in and out of his outline. Thalassion once again began pacing, offering the same hissing purr of reassurance. Doc Bailey's wings twitched in agitation, but she gave the quartermaster a once-over and ordered her aide to help him back to his quarters until they arrived at Shadowglen in a day or so's time, barring poor weather.

Aryssius followed her orders, thanking the stars above that at least she hadn't issued him a death warrant.

***

Aryssius’s stoic pain turned to quiet moans and feeble tail twitches by the time they docked, which seemed to make his Crownfang all the more anxious. He was accompanied to the doctor's by Doc Bailey. While he listened to Aryssius's gripes and Doc Bailey’s more practical observations, his pen flew across the page. He finally nodded and with a practiced eye, he gave the quartermaster another set of tests, somewhat more suited to his scribble status. Doc Bailey watched carefully as the doctor took some samples that she didn’t even realize were possible. Thalassion seemed to like the doctor's office, taking a chance to try and eat all the medical equiment he could find. The doctor determined it was scurvy and slight malnutrition from their unusually long journey.

He firmly told Aryssius to spend his time in port in a hostel, eat fresh foods, and do some simple fin and tail exercises every day. Charis found them as they were exiting the healing center and quickly agreed that was for the best.

'The Coreolis will dock here as long as necessary for our quartermaster to heal. We’ve got enough booty to rent out the hostel for everyone!'

Naturally, this was a bit alarming to the owner of the hostel, a willowy cream darkonite named Nell, who just barely had enough room to house everyone. However, after a private conversation with Charis, Nell welcomed them into her hostel, trying and failing to discreetly add the obscene wad of cash to her register.

She took a special interest in the diseased scribble quartermaster, constantly fussing over him and bringing him fresh oranges and other victuals that he insisted he didn’t need, but still accepted. Even Thalassion, who rarely took to anyone, seemed to enjoy her company, even once or twice gracing her with his hissing purr of contentment. She cooked heartily for the crew with the money she’d been given, but always snuck away to take Aryssius his own meals. It was obvious what was going on, especially when she stayed away from the front desk for longer and longer periods of time. By the end of their two week stay, only the most oblivious of the crew hadn’t guessed it. ["Guessed what, Daddy?" "Shhh."]

When Aryssius finally felt well, he used Nell’s back office for a long conversation with the captain. At dinner that evening, she barked for silence a few times before announcing: 'After his long bout with scurvy, I’m pleased to announce that our quartermaster is back to full health and we can soon return to the sea!' This was a joyous announcement to most of the sailors, who preferred the constant movement of the ocean to the squishiness of Shadowglen’s swamplands.

Charis barked for silence again and continued. 'With that, I am sad to announce that we will soon need to choose a new quartermaster, as ours has decided to continue his life on land.' She glanced meaningfully down to Aryssius, sitting at the front table next to Nell. With a flick of her tail, she gestured for him to come to the front as she took a seat on the opposite side of Nell.

Aryssius floated up to the front, skin a vibrant blue, eyes no longer yellow but peridot green. His tentacles flickered nervously around him, but he mostly stayed within his outline.

'Ahem. Well, yes. As you all know, I have spent most of my life at sea. Born there, actually. And. Ahem. Well, I’d like to continue my life here, on land. It has been an honor serving with you lot. But I’m off to my next adventure now. I wish you the best, and I know Charis won’t steer you wrong.' His eyes flickered down to Nell, and the crew members that hadn’t figured it out already gasped. It was only Yani – well, let’s just say it was because he was the youngest of the crew, and not because he was an idiot. [“Don't be mean, Daddy.” Ari laughs.]

Their cheers and good-natured joking could be heard all around town, and Nell looked down in embarrassment before Aryssius sat back down. Sailors pressed in on all sides, wishing them well and congratulating the pair. The celebration lasted long into the night, dusk becoming dawn before they knew it.

***

Gathering her crew and supplies the next morning, Charis ushered everyone onto the Coreolis. Aryssius and Nell stood on the pier, and Aryssius would take to the grave the fact that Charis had tears in her eyes. They embraced fondly, having been each other’s closest friends and confidantes, on the ship and in life. Thalassion wove between them, looking up at them and failing to comprehend the situation. Aryssius picked him up and set him, one last time, on Charis's head, just the way he liked.

Charis's eyes were still wet, a fact she was trying hard to disguise. ‘I’ll truly miss you, Scrib. How could I ever replace you?’ She never used his nickname on board, to maintain her authority, but between them, she never felt comfortable calling him 'Aryssius'. The stuffy name didn't fit his personality. She sniffled loudly, her telenine nose dripping helplessly. Aryssius quietly moved his tail out of the way and pulled the Crownfang from her head, allowing him one last telenine-y kiss.

‘'Riss, I’ll never forget you. I have an address now. I expect postcards. And visits. You’ll always be my fondest friend.’ Aryssius had known the storm telenine since they had first met in Veta’s Lake District, before it was even the Lake District. Young and reckless, they had boarded a ship and had never looked back. Their exuberance and curiosity led them to the Coreolis, which they painstakingly repaired, staffed, and journeyed in for years. Now, their combined journey was at an end, but as Charis trotted onto their ship, she heard Aryssius shout the phrase he had uttered before their very first journey, and before every trip afterwards...

[Machus clears his throat before saying, “Snout up! Adventure awaits!” Ari laughs, delighted, causing Machus to laugh as well. "Now, that story was much too long, and it is definitely past your bedtime…”].