Habits

Arcalin

Sniffing, Poking, and prodding

For the longer amount of time he spends on the surface, Arcalin still hasn't learned all that much about it. Sure, he knows what trees are. Sure, he knows what a book is. And sure, he knows what clothes are. However, he only learned about these things through experiencing them, specifically though touch and smell.

An example, one of his first days on the surface, he spent most of his day testing fruits. This may seem silly, but merfolk don't exactly have a keen idea of what regular surface dwellers eat.

So, one day, Dillion handed him an apple. In which, Arcalin hissed at. A fruit being red? A clear sign that this must be poisonous. But Dillion was persistent, insisting to the other to try the mysterious crimson fruit. The other continued to hiss when the fruit was pushed closer to him. Dillion finally gave up on it and put the apple on the ground, going off to bring something else new to the sea dweller.

While the other went off to find different treasures, Arcalin was still confronted by this strange red thing. He glared at it. It looked almost pretty, there wasn't very many things he owned that were as bright as this  thing. Finally, curiosity got the best of him.

He slowly crept toward the object, moving on all fours as he got closer. He moved his hand out to it and poked it lightly. Flinching instantly when pressing a fingertip to it, almost as if it was waiting attack him. When it didn't try to bite him back, he poked it again. He poked and prodded at it until he deemed it okay to put to his nose.

He picked the apple up by the stem and held it to his nose. He sniffed it gently. It didn't smell very good on the outside. He dropped it, deeming it unworthy to put in his mouth.

Arcalin has never eaten an unpeeled apple since.