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Intermission 1

With permission to leave, the pair of Wonders wasted no time saying their goodbyes to the Council and a few friends in the village. Idesin hurried from hut to hut, sharing a few words with his many friends and bedmates, and the sounds from the huts suggested that he took a few feels to keep his memories strong as well. Nobody was surprised; it was the otter's way.

Studley, however, visited only one hut. Sitting beside a gryphon still in her bed, he slowly took her hand in his. She opened her eyes, and they shared a look. No words were said, and only a slight tightening of their hands showed anything at all. The gryphon nodded, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek, before laying down again. He walked out, but left the door open, the warm afternoon light allowing his shadow a final caresse of her cheek before he left.

He waited for the otter at the north end of the island, atop a great cliff overlooking the ocean a hundred feet below. It wasn't until sundown that Idesin made his way there, rocking side to side with a giddy grin on his face. Studley just shook his head, but shared a smile with the otter anyway. It was understandable; they weren't going to be home for a long time, and if he was as amorous as his friend, he would likely spend a good bit of the day going to his friends for a bit of fun as well, stocking up as it were.

They stood at the top of the cliff, and with a look at each other, they jumped. A wave hit the cliff hard, and rose up, catching them after a short fall of twenty feet, and carried them away from the island as it fell. Neither one fought it, barely moving as they allowed the current to take them from their home and out into the ocean.

Once they were free of the waves pounding the cliff face, Studley nodded at the otter. Idesin dove under the water, and the wolf waited. It shouldn't take him long to find something down there; the ocean had more life than any piece of land that he'd ever seen, and with the otter's strength in swimming, he doubted that they'd be waiting for very long.

And he was right. Idesin returned in little more than a minute with a pair of fish, one in each hand. He passed one over to the wolf, smiling. "Style or function today, Studley?"

"Function, I think. You?"

"Style, always style."

The wolf rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the fish in his hands. He cupped his fingers around it, keeping it in the water but unable to swim away. "Hush...you will be grander than you ever imagined soon," Studley whispered. His fingers flashed with light, forming a swirling circle around the fish that could be seen even through the water around him. He closed his eyes, focusing his energy on the fish, and willing it to change, willing it to transform.

This was the power of a Wonder, the power to change things not only through one's words, one's actions, but through potent magics. And it was what the Council feared Rannoi would do, and why he and Idesin were sent to find him.

The orb of light around the fish rapidly expanded, soon pushing him up out of the water on top of it. Idesin was caught on the outer edge of the growing shape, and nearly lost control of his own spell. The otter flicked a glare at the wolf, but Studley ignored him, focusing on the shape that had to come out of the transformation. He pressed both his hands against the ever-growing mass beneath him, his fur dripping sea water onto it. "Grow...grow..." the wolf muttered under his breath.

When the glow faded a few seconds later, the fish was gone, and in its place was a massive whale. The head of the mighty creature stuck out of the water enough for Studley to stay dry if he sat down, and the body was so big that the motion of the water around him could scarcely be felt. He sighed contentedly as he sat down, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his ankles.

Before he could settle into meditation, he heard a loud splash to his side. He opened one eye again, and saw the otter flailing around as a dolphin swam off. "Lost control?" Studley asked.

"It didn't want to give me a ride. I thought they were supposed to be happy and friendly with people," the otter grumbled. He swam over to the whale, getting a grip on one of the submerged flippers. "Can I catch a ride with you?"

Studley chuckled. "Alright, Idesin. Come aboard."

The otter climbed atop the whale with a chuckle, flipping up the side of their ride with a surprisingly acrobatic mid-air somersault, before sitting down at the wolf's side. He pointed off towards the horizon. "To adventure!"

The whale surged forward in the water, the large body belying the speed that the creature could bring to bear. Wolf and otter grinned wider than they had in a long time as the island faded away behind them. Despite leaving behind friends, they were headed off towards something new, something different. It had been centuries since they had been out in the world, and they were overdue for a bit of fun. They just hoped that it wouldn't be too hard to figure out what had happened since the last time they'd been off the island.

Despite the whale's speed, the islands of Japan didn't appear on the horizon until three days had passed, and by the time they were in sight, both of them were getting sick of eating fish to survive. Studley slowed the whale beneath him, and after getting a grip on their ride's smooth back, had the whale submerge somewhat. They were almost completely underwater as they continued to approach, and at times slipped fully under the waves. However, it was necessary; humans had boats, and they would likely be out, doing...whatever it was that the humans did.

They found one nearly ten miles out from the islands. With a fond pat, Studley dismissed the whale that had carried them so far, and he and Idesin swam for the ship. The otter raced ahead under the water, and the wolf followed behind. He had to play catch up as the otter rushed up the side, ducking under a pile of trash on one end of the ship and hoping that the otter had found someplace to hide.