Gift - Capacity + short story

Based on the following scene from an RP at Cetus Sea, posts written by .

"Enzi hovered next to his mother, sure to keep her between himself and the stage. The bright objects sitting behind the trainers were intriguing, and he spyhopped several times to investigate them as best he could. He had never seen them before. What were they? Kopa didn't seem concerned with them at all. Then again, his mother never seemed overly concerned with the things that he found frightening, so he couldn't use her lack of a reaction as a definite indication that they were safe. Still, they seemed harmless enough; sitting peacefully on the stage, not moving. If the trainers weren't in the way, he might have risked a closer look.

Kopa opened her eyes when the rubbing hands left her skin. Seeing that one trainer picked up a familiar red ball, Kopa allowed her tail end to drop downward to assume a vertical position, her chin resting on the stage. She clicked eagerly. It had been a long time since they were offered toys - perhaps for fear of Enzi's safety. Whatever the case was, there they were, just begging to be played with. To her dismay, however, the trainer holding the red ball walked to the medical pool to give the toy to Gunnar instead of them. Before she could whine in protest, a second trainer tossed a smaller, softer ball into the show pool. Kopa squealed in delight and swam after the toy, pushing it around the pool by her rostrum. For a moment, she forgot to swim slowly so Enzi could keep up with her, but was quickly reminded by the calf releasing a squeal of fear. Even after she slowed down, he kept plastered to her tail stock, not seeming comfortable with being too close to the toy. Not just yet.

Kopa continued pushing the small globe around the pool at Enzi's pace, whistling encouragingly to him every minute or so. She was determined to show him that this toy wasn't to be feared, but how? He was so nervous by nature that she wasn't quite sure which course of action to take. Perhaps showing him that it couldn't fight back? She opened her jaws and tried her best to get a grip on the ball, but by design, it was too large. Closing her mouth again, she exhaled sharply and rolled onto her side at the surface, raising a pectoral flipper into the air to hit the ball with. The toy retreated, and she followed, continuing her assault.

Watching the ball flee from his mother was quite entertaining. Enzi followed in her wake, lifting his head above the frothy foam that resulted from his mother's rambunctious movement. Whatever this sky blue object was, it certainly wasn't hurting Kopa. If anything, it seemed afraid of her. But would it be afraid of him too? He kicked his flukes and swam off to one side, only a foot or two away from his mother, squeaking to her. This stopped her playing and she turned her brown eyes back to his matching set, nudging the ball in his direction with her rostrum. Enzi dove quickly to avoid any potential attack from the toy, staring up at it underneath the water. It didn't hurt Kopa, and it didn't attempt to chase him. It seemed safe enough...Summoning up some courage, he began pumping his flukes rather suddenly, quickly closing the gap between himself and the ball, before swimming rostrum-first into it. The ball was knocked up into the air, and landed in the water beside him. He flinched back out of reflex, but again, it remained motionless. Enzi released triumphant whistles over this victory over the toy, wiggling his pectoral fins excitedly.

An excited squeal escaped Kopa at the sight of her calf battering the blue ball like a pro. She stroked her flukes and glided over to him, whistling her praise. Finally, he overcame a fear. It was a small one in the scope of things, but an accomplishment nonetheless. After giving his chin an affectionate rostrum bump, she swam after the ball to retrieve it. Was his bravery a fluke, or was it a beginning, she wondered? To test this, she used the side of her head to nudge the ball back in his direction, watching intently for his reaction. Would he shrink back in fear, or would he repeat his last course of action?

The calf's new found bravery was put to the test when the ball swam back in his direction. He paused, staring the object down. It came back! Should he attack it again? It hadn't retaliated before, so it was worth another try, right? Taking the situation as seriously as a wild orca may take hunting prey, Enzi dove again, pumping his flukes rapidly toward the floating toy. This time, rather than striking it from directly below, he hit it at an angle, which caused it to propel forward rather than straight up in the air. The force sent the ball past Kopa, closer to the stage. Enzi snorted through his blowhole, almost as though daring the ball to swim back to him again."

Contrary to how shy and meek he often is, Enzi has it in him to be playfully aggressive.