Koi Fish

Equinox had finally found the lost civilization of Atlantis. The first few adventurers had stumbled out of its depths breathless with tales of stone knights and warring plants and he knew he had to see it for himself. From what he had heard, these stone knights, the Euoplos, didn't take kindly to trespassers and had been aggressively confronting anyone who came across them. Nox wasn't in the mood to appease them and he certainly wasn't in the mood to fight something made of stone, so he had kept to the shadows instead. He crept through the undergrowth, stopping when he heard the heavy footfalls of Euplo patrols and laying low until they passed. He thanked his dark colouring for keeping him out of sight and only had to contend with a few aggressive plants that were too slow to snap him up before he reached a clearing in the jungle. It was a wide clearing, short and trimmed grass covering the ground and flowers blooming on tall bushes framing a large pond. Temporarily distracted by the crystal clear water and the lack of claustrophobic plant growth, Equinox was nearly sideswiped by a tail club that hurtled toward his chest. 

He ducked to the side, skidded on the grass and turned sharply to face the attack. He lowered his head and hissed at the Euoplo, a bright white one with a gold horned mask that was violently whipping its tail in his direction.

"Stand down, intruder!" the Euoplo barked. He spoke, which gave Equinox some kind of hope at talking his way out of it instead of brawling. He raised his head again, forced his feathers to lie flat and cleared his throat, sticky and dry from his long trek through the jungle.

"I mean no harm," he declared, "I'm just looking for a place to drink, I got lost here and can't find my way out." A little white lie never hurt anyone, he thought. The Euoplo's tail lowered and he hesitated,

"Why are you here?" he asked abruptly.

"Heard rumours on the surface, can you blame a guy for being curious?" Equinox challenged, "A big dome full of weird plants and new dinosaurs we haven't seen before? Anyone would want to check it out."

"We are not an attraction to be gawked at," the Euoplo growled, but he still didn't raise his club again. "You... want to leave?" he finally asked, after a brief moment of pondering.

"I do," Equinox confirmed, "No offence but this place doesn't want me here and I don't want to be here." This seemed to be the right thing to say as the Euoplo finally relaxed and looked curiously at him.

"Rest a while then, traveller, then I shall show you the way out," he said gravely.

"Equinox," Nox introduced himself. The Euoplo regarded him silently, his eyes narrowed.

"Talos," he said at last, which Equinox took to be his name. "Go take a drink, mind the fish."

The raptor walked up to the side of the pond and stared in awe at the sight before him. Lush green lily pads floated lazily in a current pumping from a vent in the artificial body of water before him. He had seen human-made ponds before but they were usually overgrown and filthy, stagnant from years of neglect and only fit to sustain bacteria and fly larvae. The water here was crystal clear, barely rippling the pattern of the tiles that lined the bottom of it. They were painted with images of the fish that swan above them, grouped into pairs that swam around each other in a circle. Each fish was a different colour, but always in contrast to the fish opposite it. The live fish themselves were just as impressive, plump, healthy living jewels in various shades of off-white, orange, red, black, brown and yellow. Some were even a plain pearly white, gleaming under the artificial lights that lit the entirety of the Atlantis dome, their fluorescence making the fish look like they were glowing. They looked delicious, and Nox dipped a claw into the pond to try and grab one, his stomach growling after nearly a full day of travel. He let it hang into the water for a while, holding it as still as he could with the occasional twitch of his fingers to draw the attention of the fish. One red and black fish with a white face and belly, took interest, its short barbs pointing at him. It swam forward cautiously and was nearly in his grasp when a shadow fell over them both and the fish fled.

"By the gods, man, don't eat them!" Talos scolded him. Equinox withdrew reluctantly from the pond and forced himself to be content with just watching the brightly coloured fish swim around.

"Are they off limits for a reason?" he asked. The Euoplo scowled at him and he raised his arms, "Hey, not trying to argue, just curious." Talos relaxed a little at that and looked into the pond himself, following the swirling fish with his eyes while keeping his head tilted towards Equinox. The fish began to return slowly, back to their aimless swimming back and forth in front of their dinosaur observers. Talos settled down with a loud grunt, resting on his chest and sticking his front legs out while keeping his back ones tucked close to his body.

"We... it doesn't feel right. These fish have been here since before we all woke," he explained, "None of us can remember a time when they weren't here, even the oldest members of our society recount tales of the Euplos emerging and finding the pond here, still full of fish." Equinox nodded.

"Makes sense then, to treat them with a bit of reverence," he admitted. Talos nodded, seemingly satisfied that Equinox had come around to his way of thinking. 

"It's such a peaceful place too," he continued, "the more violent plants don't seem to reach this far, though we can't figure out why." The raptor looked around at the plants around them and true to the Euplo's words the plants were perfectly normal, like jungle foliage would be on the islands. None of the strange lunging things that had been harassing him on his way through Atlantis, or the ones that cropped up in the wake of the Oviraptors' agriculture. He thought about those strange, small raptors again and considered asking Talos about them now they were on friendlier terms. Before he could broach the subject, the bushes rustled with the motion of something pushing through them and he jumped to his feet, a hiss already building in his throat. Talos' tail club swung in front of him like a barrier and Equinox stood back in surprise.

"Well met, Talos!" a voice called cheerfully from the jungle. A dark black Euplo head lined with extravagant feathers poked through the bush and was quickly followed by the rest of a large, tank-like dinosaur. The newcomer was wearing vicious looking spiked armour but her tone seemed casual and friendly. She inclined her head at him and smiled. "Well met to you too, stranger," she greeted warmly.

"You are the most terrible guard of the western front, Korppi," Talos said drily, but with no real sense of malice. She beamed back at him and stepped forward to take a drink from the pond. She waded into the shallows, greeting the fish like old friends before taking a long drink, savouring the fresh water that flowed from that hole in the wall.

"It's hot out today," she remarked, "it seems opening the gates has caused a bit of a heatwave." She looked down into the pond at the fish and her brow furrowed, "I hope it doesn't have an adverse effect on the koi."

"Koi, is that their name?" Equinox asked curiously, peering around her spikes to look at the pale fish that was circling the Euplo's legs.

"It's their type, their species," Talos elaborated, "like a trout fish, these are koi fish." Nox hummed, leaning further over the pond to look closer at the fish. He really hadn't seen anything like them before, most of the river fish he could catch were large and fearsome but they never had colours like this. He imagined it would make them easy prey for the water birds, not every creature like himself had the same means of defence he did. The gentle sound of the water and the hypnotic movement of the fish were beginning to soothe him in some strange way. Usually, water meant danger, all manner of things could hide beneath the surface and be lying in wait to lunge out and grab you, bringing you to a watery demise. But here, the water ran clear and the only inhabitants were harmless carp-like beings drifting around in their own little world, their peace became his peace as he continued to watch them.

"They're very calming aren't they?" Korppi asked rhetorically. She parked herself next to him and joined him in watching the fish. "I think of all the places in Atlantis, this one needs to be protected the most," she admitted softly. 

"Agreed," Talos said bluntly. He set himself down on Equinox's other side. All of a sudden he was boxed in by two of these armoured knights, but the raptor couldn't bring himself to feel anxious about it.

"Did the humans make this?" he asked. It seemed like a silly question once it left his mouth but he just wanted to continue a pleasant conversation for once.

"We think so," Korppi hummed, "It fits into their 'pretty but not very useful' kind of tastes, don't you think?"

"It does. Have you ever been out of Atlantis? I think you might like some of the old human things on the islands. Like in the Dead City, there's this statue-"

"By the Nine, Dead City?" Talos interrupted incredulously. Equinox winced.

"Yeah, doesn't sound very appealing but that's just what we call it. It's full of life really, plants, animals, dinosaurs, all sorts. I think we call it Dead because it just kind of... feels that way. It feels like it's missing humans more than any other part of the islands," Nox explained.

"Well, that certainly makes it seem less frightening," Korppi chuckled, "To answer your question, no we haven't left Atlantis. We were born down here, and we'll probably die down here." She tried to hide the melancholy in her voice but it was obvious.

"It's definitely a unique place, I can kinda see why you want to preserve it," Nox reassured her, gently bumping her side with his hip. Talos looked at him with haughty disdain. "Oh come on, surely you don't enjoy all these murder plants," he protested, making the white Euoplo roll his eyes.

"Are you not a murder creature yourself?" Talos asked, making Nox's feathers ruffle.

"I... suppose. Though I try to limit it to what I need and never take more," he said, "Do the plants do the same?"

"Nope!" Korppi chimed in, "They pretty much kill anything in reach." She left them to sit in the awkward silence that followed, smiling serenely at them both before looking back to the koi pond. The two males followed suit, watching the back and forth of the fish, their gossamer tails propelling them gracefully along in their circular routine.

Equinox stirred from a sleep he didn't remember slipping into to the soft sound of Talos and Korppi talking. He tried to listen in but the herbivores noticed him waking straight away and stopped, turning to look at him.

"Finally awake?" Talos asked. Equinox yawned and nodded, stretching his arms out in front of him and watching his purple and black feathers splay out. 

"Ready to head out of here, if you're still offering that escort back to the entrance?" he asked cheekily, flashing his teeth in what he hoped was a charming smile. Talos seemed a little taken aback, like he hadn't been expecting Nox to take him up on that offer. 

"Oh, I suppose so," he said slowly. "Korppi, will you hold the line here?" The other Euoplo waved them away with a smile and returned to fish-watching without a word.

"I appreciate this, seriously," Equinox told Talos as they walked into the jungle together. The Euoplo sighed.

"You picked a bad time to get lost, friend. Strange times, strange times indeed." He didn't elaborate further but the silence between them was comfortable so the raptor didn't feel it necessary to press the conversation any more. Talos seemed to know all sorts of shortcuts and they passed patrols going the opposite way several times, but Equinox was simply looked over with his new companion leading him along. It seemed Talos held quite the level of respect among these hardened warriors and Equinox had picked quite the protector for his journey back. The entrance to the dome appeared sooner than he had expected, emerging from the bushes like a surprise attack.

"You and Korppi should come up and visit some time," Equinox said suddenly, "It'd be a shame to part ways and never see each other again, I'm quite fond of you now." Talos cleared his throat and looked away like he was embarrassed.

"We'll see. You're not supposed to be in here."

"No I get that, just... if you ever come to the Dead City one day, ask for Equinox. Folk know where to find me," Equinox offered. Talos said nothing, he just turned away and disappeared into the jungle once again. Nox watched him go until he could no longer reason that the leaves rustling were from the movements of the big Euoplo. He let out a deep sigh, curious about why these herbivores felt so tied to this dangerous place, to the point where they never left. He remembered the koi pond but surely that alone couldn't secure the loyalty of an army of stone soldiers? He started his trek back through the subterranean tunnel, eager to feel real sunlight on his feathers again. The more he thought about those artificial fish, out of the influence of their hypnotic movements, the more unnerved they made him feel.