The mountains were… a strange new home for Spark. Peaks that soared high into the blue, blue sky, forests, and jagged glowing crystals. The peaks at least he could find a touchstone in the underwater mounts and ravines of the ocean - but the trees? The glowing 'bones'? It was all so new and so different. He was… more than a little lost, he'd admit, but thankfully one of the colonists that had adopted him sensed this and set up some time for him to learn from others.

Spark stared up at the three tar'kee that had come to teach him, wide-eyed. One of the aerobics was from the colony he had been adopted into, but the other two were strangers.

"I'm Snickerdoodle," the crab aerobic said warmly, "and this is Harbringer, and this is Maedra."

The other two nodded and waved at him, and Spark waved shyly back. Realizing that he was expected to reply, he blushed and introduced himself. "Spark."

Introductions complete, Spark shuffled feeling even more awkward and shy, not sure how to start this. He wanted to learn about what life was like on the surface, yes, and had told as much to Snickerdoodle - but asking in front of strangers was… well, strange. Sensing his discomfort, Snickerdoodle took over.

"Would anyone like something to drink?" They asked, heading over to the small kitchenette near the common area where they sat, pillows on the floor and soft couches for all bodytypes.

Maedra and Spark asked for water, while Harbringer asked for some tea and Snickerdoodle got a lemonade. Drinks acquired and passed out, they settled down.

"So, what do you want to learn about?" Harbringer asked, settling down with a stealing cup between his hands.

Spark opened his mouth, stuttered, and focused on his drink, feeling embarrassed. "Everything," he mumbled into his cup of water, then hesitated. "I know… I know that's vague but - most of my memories are from underwater. Being up here is… different."

Snickerdoodle and Harbringer nodded in sympathy, understanding the cultural whiplash. From what he had been told, the aerobics had only been let out of the depths of the earth recently.

"Ah, I remember the days," Maedra sighed, curling up. "Back when I first emerged… well, I can tell you, you'll dry out a lot faster than you think. But it also won't be as bad as you think." Sensing Spark's confusion, she continued. "You'll dry out quick - as you've probably figured - so keeping a pond or pool in your house is pretty essential. However, if you do dry out real bad… you won't necessarily die. It'll suck, sure, but you're not gonna drop dead immediately."

Spark listened attentively, feeling a bit of relief at her assuaging of his worries. He had been uncertain about how to deal with his gills and skin drying out, especially in the dry mountain air. "Thank you," he said truthfully.

"You need to deal with your skin drying out?" Snickerdoodle shook out her feathers, looking disturbed. "Yikes."

Harbringer snorted in agreement, then tilted his head at Spark. "Have you done much hunting up here, on the surface?"

"...no." Spark wasn't sure if he wanted to hunt everywhere, but that was him.

Harbringer nodded, settling down. "Well, there's a lot of ways to do it - what everyone pictures is sprinting after things, yelling, with some sort of spear or weapon. But work smarter, not harder, eh? There's all sort of traps and snares you can put to your advantage up here. Since gravity works different down in the depths, yeah? Well, let me tell you about some…"

Spark listened, feeling a little queasy at all the different ways there were to hunt animals. He wasn't sure if he'd be doing much of that, but just in case… well, better to know it than not, he supposed. Despite his uncertainty, he still thanked Harbringer for the knowledge, though he wasn't sure if the aerobic heard him while he was bickering with Maedra over some technicality on a snare.

Snickerdoodle made an amused noise at the other two, then turned to him. "Well, now that you've heard from them… let me tell you about your new home."

Spark perked up. He had heard other stories of Rekes, but he couldn't get enough. His new home that he shared with a few other colonists was built into the rock of the mountainside, which even felt different than the stone of the ocean floor.

Snickderdoodle smiled to themself as Maedra and Harbringer settled down, then began to speak to Spark.

"Our colony isn't the most glorious or amazing… we have equipment break, and the mountains are a hard place to live. For those without wings, the drops are steep, and you need to learn to tell a stable ledge from one that'll crumble. There are some large animals - some of which you make noises at and scare off, others you play dead and hope they leave you alone. We'll tell you which is which. And there's also the bones… the bones of the long-dead creature."

Snickerdoodle told him one of the stories of the bones, one he hadn't heard before, and Spark listened with rapt attention. When she was done, he thanked her and then Harbringer and Maedra. The two foreign colonists cheerfully nodded, then made their leave. Spark watched them go, then turned to Snickerdoodle with a thankful smile.

The world above the sea felt a little less scary, now.