It had been two weeks since Orca had taken Torrent to the library. Orca knew that it was a bit risky to show Torrent the statue completed so soon, but she hoped that he wouldn't get suspicious at how quickly she had finished it. She caught up with her brother by his room.
Torrent's room was much closer to the rest of the palace than her own. His room wasn't in the same cluster as Coral, Gill, and River's rooms, but was in a small corridor escaping from their hallway. When Orca got to the doorway, she knocked her claws on the stone slab of his door. When no one responded, she attempted to turn the doorknob to open it. Pushing the water behind the door away, it creaked open with little resistance. Unlike Orca's own room, Torrent's didn't appear to have a lock.
Orca peered in, but didn't see Torrent in there. Suddenly, she felt a claw tap on her back. She ruffled her wings in surprise and turned around.
Hello, Torrent flashed in Aquatic, unsure why his sister was looking into his room.
So sorry! Orca replied, embarrassed that she had been caught peeking into Torrent's room without permission. I was looking for you, and thought you might be here.
Torrent nodded understandingly. What for? he asked, curious.
Oh! I have a surprise back in my room for you!
Torrent frowned. What sort of surprise?
Don't worry, it's good. I made you a gift! Orca reassured her younger brother.
Torrent thought for a moment. Alright, let me set down my scrolls first. The SeaWing prince brushed past his older sister into his room, and placed down a few scrolls from school he was carrying. He turned around, and followed Orca out, closing his door carefully behind him.
As the two started the swim down the long path to Orca's lair, Orca glanced over at Torrent. He was unusually grim and silent.
What's wrong? Orca asked. You seem quiet.
Torrent shrugged his wingblades. It's nothing.
Oh, Orca replied, unsure how she should respond. Torrent didn't seem comfortable with telling her whatever it was. She could understand that, there were plenty of things she couldn't tell her family, specifically her powers.
The two continued swimming down the passage in silence, the gloomy ceiling of the castle looming above them, like a sea of clouds on a cold and rainy day. The gentle drone of rushing water swept past their ears as they swam onwards.
Orca thought for a moment. Maybe she should try again to get Torrent to open up about whatever was bothering him.
Are you sure it's nothing? she asked.
Torrent didn't reply for a moment, and looked away from Orca uncomfortably. It's River, he finally flashed back, she's angry that Mother is too busy with the council to give her attention.
And she's taking it out on you? Orca guessed.
Torrent nodded slowly in affirmation.
Well, tell her that she shouldn't be such a clam-brained brat, Orca snapped. And that she can go choke on a sea urchin for all you care.
Torrent smiled slightly and rolled his eyes.
No, seriously! Orca continued. It's completely true, I'll bet that if we replaced her with a clam one day, Whirlpool would hardly notice! Now, that dragon's too busy picking the sand between Coral's claws to notice if an octopus crawled up his nose, but still!
Torrent chuckled. Orca was completely right about Whirlpool, he'd do anything for Coral; it was almost pitiful. You know River would just go and tell mother if I said that.
Then I'll just go and tell mother that she said something even nastier first. I'm older, so of course she'll believe me.
Torrent thought for a moment, smiling. You know that would be lying. You shouldn't lie.
Well, it's not like she hasn't said anything nastier to you before, right?
Torrent tapped a claw in thought and shrugged.
See? Orca flashed. It would totally be fair, and maybe she'd finally start learning some manners.
Of course, there are other things I could do to River, Orca thought to herself. Maybe a small enchantment to make her scales itch wildly whenever she was rude to anyone would do the trick . . . no. Orca knew that it would be wrong to use her animus powers to hurt someone else. But it would be so easy . . .
I guess I could try, Torrent replied. He gently smiled at his older sister as the two approached Orca's door.
Alright, close your eyes, Orca flashed to Torrent, shaking away her previous train of thought. No peeking!
She opened the door, and guided Torrent through the doorway into her room. Grabbing her brother's claws, she peeled them away from his eyes. Tada! she flashed.
In front of Torrent stood a light-grey marble statue of a gryphon. The top of the gryphon's ruffled head reached about the bottom of Torrent's wingblades, maybe a quarter the height of a full-grown dragon. The statue's head had intricate feathers up against its neck and head, with two long triangular ears poking out the back, and a sharp beak on the front. It had four legs, just like a dragon, and carefully carved talons at the end of each. It's feathery wings were folded up against it's body, and it was looking up at Torrent almost expectantly, as if it were asking him some question no one knew the answer to.
Torrent looked back at the gryphon in a happy shock. Wow, he flashed. This is amazing!
Orca grinned back in humility. You really think so?
Yeah! Torrent replied. He's so awesome! Thank you so much! He swam up to his older sister and wrapped a wing around her in gratitude.
Orca smiled. You're welcome. I hope you like him.
I love him! Torrent flashed back. How did you make him so quickly?
Orca's smile suddenly dropped. She was unsure how to respond. The only reason she had been able to make the statue so quickly was because of her animus magic, and she couldn't tell Torrent about that.
But, she didn't want to lie to him, not to her friend, not again. Orca recalled what Torrent had said when she had suggested lying to their mother about River: You know that would be lying. You shouldn't lie. Torrent had told her the truth about River being mean, hadn't he? She shouldn't return the favor by lying right to his snout.
Orca knew she could lie, she had done it a thousand times before, to her mother, to her father, even to Rift. It had almost become second nature. She could easily just claim I worked day and night or blame it on "artist's luck" or something like that; Torrent would believe her, and even if he didn't, he wouldn't guess the truth. But Orca didn't want to lie, she was done lying. And Torrent was her brother, her friend, she could trust him, right? If not, she could always just wipe it from his memories somehow, could her animus magic do that? It probably could, if worst came to worst. She was settled. She would tell Torrent.
Umm . . . magic, Orca replied.
Oh, I see, Torrent joked. Don't want to give away your secret, do you? He rolled his eyes at what he thought was Orca's insincerity. Don't worry, I won't share.
It wasn't too late to turn back. Torrent was almost giving her an opportunity at a second chance. But Orca was done hiding her secret. Why did he have to make it so hard for her?
No, I'm serious. I enchanted some of my chisels to make things go quicker.
Gulping down her fear, Orca held her breath in apprehension, and hoped for the best.
Wait, you're serious? Torrent asked in shock. He blinked a few times, as if he were attempting to make sure this wasn't a dream. As in, magical enchantments? Animus enchantments?
Orca slowly nodded, her head barely moving up and down.
Torrent let out a small chuckle. This is a joke, right? You're going to say something like, 'haha, fooled you' as soon as I believe you, aren't you?
Orca shook her head. She realized that Torrent would need actual proof in front of his own two eyes to believe her. She looked over to a scroll on her scrollshelf. Under her breath, she muttered, "Enchant that scroll to bring itself over in front of Torrent." The scroll followed her directions to expert precision, quickly pushing the water in front of it aside to float in front of Torrent's snout.
Whoa! Torrent flashed, startled. He quickly jumped away from the scroll. For a few moments, he just stood there, looking back and forth between Orca and the scroll.
After an uncomfortable silence, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. So it's true.
Orca nodded grimly. This wasn't going as well as she had hoped.
Does anyone else know? Rift? Mother? Father?
No, Orca flashed.
Torrent started pacing back and forth around Orca's room. After a moment which felt like an eternity, he stopped. That's . . . cool.
Torrent still looked a bit surprised, but that was to be expected. Are you scared of me? Orca asked in concern.
Her younger brother thought for a moment before answering. I guess, you do have practically unlimited power, right? But you're still my sister, and I know you wouldn't use your powers to hurt anyone.
Was that really true? Orca had hurt River during the Talons of Power Ceremony with her powers. Would she do that again? What if next time, she even killed a dragon?
On the outside, Orca smiled and nodded. Yeah, she flashed. She had done it again. Lied. Wasn't that the whole point of telling Torrent about her powers? So she didn't have to lie to him anymore?
Torrent looked at her, then at the statue. He appeared to be deep in thought.
What is it? Orca questioned.
Well, I was wondering, would it be alright if you enchanted something for me? Torrent looked slightly uncomfortable asking her the question.
Orca cocked her head to the side, wondering what her little brother wanted. I guess? I mean, sure, what is it? Even if Torrent wanted her to enchant something, that was to be expected. Orca was just glad that he had accepted her powers.
Well . . . can you enchant the gryphon statue to come to life?
Orca blinked in surprise. It didn't seem like too harmful an enchantment; there were worse things Torrent could've asked for. I don't know, Orca honestly replied. I haven't enchanted something to life before; I don't even know if that's possible. But I'll try.
Really? Torrent flashed, practically bursting in excitement. A huge grin was spread across his snout.
Orca nodded. She looked at the statue and took in a deep breath. "Statue, I enchant you to turn into a real gryphon," she whispered into the seawater.
For a moment, it looked like nothing was happening. Suddenly, the marble started to gloss over, and change colors, leaving behind what was no longer a dull statue. The solid, brittle feathers were now delicate and rich with color, being pushed too and fro by the motion of the water they were entrenched in. A golden beak protruded from the gryphon's snout, and motion had entered the gryphon's long claws.
Torrent suddenly glanced over at Orca, and saw her staggering around. Are you alright? he asked.
Y-yeah, I'm fine, Orca flashed, clearly not fine. I just need to lie down for a moment, that's all. She felt dizzy and tired, as if someone had hit her head with a large stone. Her vision was blurry. Unable to hold herself up on four legs anymore, the SeaWing princess flopped to the ground, the water gently carrying her body to the stone, landing it with a soft thud.
Suddenly, the gryphon, now alive, started to clutch at his throat. Water was pouring into his lungs, and the gill-less creature was drowning. The gryphon struggled out, his wings flapping and his claws scratching at his feathery neck. In his first few moments of life, the gryphon was going to die.
It took only moments for Torrent to notice the poor bird's plight, and not having any other options, the SeaWing furiously shook his sister, flashing all his stripes on and off in terror and yelling as loud as he could through the water in a hope to wake Orca up.
Fortunately for the poor gryphon, Orca was still conscious enough to notice Torrent's alarm, and in her daze, was able to see the gryphon. Mustering all her willpower to keep herself awake, she muttered, "I enchant the gryphon to breath water," before feeling another pang of pain. The previous two enchantments having taken far too much of a toll on her body, Orca sank into unconsciousness.
For the gryphon, her enchantment was just in time. He took his first breath of oxygen, and gasped in shock. He continued hyperventilating like this for a minute or two, trembling in fear. He had been plunged into this world only to almost leave as quickly as he had arrived.
He had no idea where he was, or who he was. Wherever he was, it felt unnatural and frightening. He needed to get out. The gryphon looked around the room, and saw a closed door, leading to what might be the outside, he scrambled towards it, attempting to paddle through the water.
When the gryphon finally reached the door, he clawed against it, long scratch marks raking through the wood. He continued this for a while in his terror, before he tired, and his claws settled.
Meanwhile, Torrent looked on in shame. This was his fault. The poor creature he had asked Orca to create was now confused and frightened, while Orca herself lay unconscious on the ground, having overexerted her powers. Torrent shook her a few times with her claws, but received no response. He looked down at her gills and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them gently opening and closing. Still, he was worried. He didn't know if or when Orca would wake up.
It took around half an hour for Orca to finally wake. During that time, Torrent stayed in the room with the gryphon and Orca. He attempted to swim over to the gryphon a few times, but all he got in return was an unfriendly hiss.
When Orca finally stirred, Torrent immediately rushed over to her.
Orca, are you alright? he flashed in concern. Orca just groaned in response. It took a few minutes for her to recover and get back up.
Remind me not to enchant things to life ever again, Orca groaned, clutching her head with a paw. How long was I out?
Torrent shrugged. A while, he said in shame. This wouldn't had happened if he hadn't asked Orca to enchant the statue for him.
Orca nodded. I'm alright, she flashed, reassuring Torrent, just a little dazed. She looked over to the gryphon, huddled in the corner by the door. What about him? she asked Torrent.
He freaked out and has been like that since.
Orca nodded and walked over to the gryphon. He hissed angrily and snapped his beak at Orca. She ruffled her wings and moved back, startled. Thinking for a moment, she turned to Torrent. Can he speak? she asked.
Torrent shook his head. He's been quiet the whole time.
Orca nodded. She was feeling less dizzy right now, and thought she might be up to this. Taking in a deep breath through her gills, she said, "I enchant the gryphon to have the intelligence to speak language, to be able to do so, above and underwater, and to be able to understand Aquatic."
The familiar dizziness washed over her, but less so than before. For a moment, a cold shiver went through Orca's scales, but then was washed away. She stood her ground, and after a few moments, the dizziness subsided. She was glad. Hopefully that would stop happening the more she used her powers.
Afterwards the enchantment, the gryphon stood still, unsure what was going on. Torrent stepped back, unsure as to exactly what Orca had said.
"What have you done to me?" the gryphon raspily shouted in bewilderment.
Calm down, Orca flashed. It's going to be alright.
"Alright? What is alright about this? Where am I?"
Orca paused for a moment before turning to Torrent.
Torrent gulped. You're in the Deep Palace, underwater. You're a gryphon, and we're all SeaWings. Dragons. He wasn't sure what else to say.
The gryphon looked around nervously, shaking. "Who are you?"
I'm Prince Torrent, Torrent replied, but you can call me Torrent. This is my sister, Princess Orca.
The gryphon was still shaking, but seemed slightly calmer now. "Who am I?"
Torrent thought for a moment. Calling the gryphon Talon just seemed wrong, but he didn't know of any other good gryphon names. Griffin? Torrent replied. Griffin didn't seem to have a problem with this, or if he did, Torrent didn't notice.
Griffin glanced from side to side, finally a bit more calm. His breathing had slowed to a normal pace.
"Why am I here?" Griffin asked.
I brought you to life, Orca uncomfortably replied.
"But why?"
Orca turned to Torrent for an explanation. Torrent wasn't exactly sure of the answer himself. I wanted another friend? he replied, not sure if that was the correct answer.
"How do I be a friend?"
Torrent wasn't sure of that answer either. He glanced at Orca for an answer, but she shrugged her wingblades in uncertainty. We can talk about things, if you'd like that. Stories and mean sisters and other stuff.
"I don't know if I'd like that."
Oh, Torrent flashed, slightly hurt, then what do you like? We can do that.
"I don't know what I like."
Torrent wasn't exactly sure what Griffin liked either. Well, what makes you happy?
"I don't know. Do I like being happy?"
Yeah, everyone likes being happy.
Griffin seemed even more confused at this, but appeared to accept it. An attempt at a smile appeared from his beak. "Alright, I'll be happy then."
That's good, Torrent replied, now extremely confused himself at this sudden change. How did one just choose to become happy? He looked at Orca, unsure what to do. Now what? he asked Griffin. Are you hungry?
"No," Griffin replied. "But I'm tired."
Torrent nodded. Where should he sleep? he asked Orca.
Your room is fine, Orca flashed back. She was exhausted. It would probably be a good idea to sleep and regain the energy she had used via animus magic. Tell mother I went to bed early, she flashed to Torrent, yawning.
Torrent nodded, and glanced back at Griffin, who was curiously examining his claws. Let's go, there shouldn't be anyone in the hallways right now, they're all planning a meeting or something.
Griffin nodded, and still smiling, swam after Torrent.