Desmond wrote:Every once in a while, a dream - well-loved and nurtured, and with a little spark of power - can go beyond the realm of dreams, and enter reality. Mortals tend to bring forth actions; lifestyles, new homes, places visited and activities enjoyed. The power of the Dreamer, however, has unusual reaches.A small being of hope and joy, Caer immediately adored the little light. Small and sleek, designed to elude those who would harm it, it was to perform the duties of Caer’s brethren during the day - outside of their normal element.
But under the sun, other dangers reign.
Caer watched with distress as the little one was chased and hounded by things just as fast, just as agile, and much more dangerous. Teeth and claws alike, sharpened and hardened with cruelty, extended, hungering to extinguish the light that dared to invade their territory.
It thrived. It suffered.
The Dreamer cheered each success and lamented each loss, noting as the latter became more and more numerous. Creatures that the little spark was sent to protect were inadvertently harming it, quickly threatening its survival more than anything armed with teeth and claws ever could.
You watch your creation as closely as I watch mine, Little One.The Creator’s warmth was a comfort against Caer’s worrisome mind. “I fear for it. It came from my dream, and I sent it out there to bring light where we could not… and I’m afraid it is truly an impossible task. I have doomed it.”
Have hope. It may yet persist, given change and time, as all beings, mortal and not, require.“Maybe. And if it fails?”
We will see. Have you not named this one, as you have named all of the others?The Creator’s tone pulsed with a fragment of lightheartedness, a small nudge against Caer’s shoulder. “... Rian. I had hoped -”
Keep that hope. Hold it close. And never, ever let it go, whatever the future holds.---
Rian is based off of the vaquita, the world’s smallest and rarest porpoise, living only in the Sea of Cortez in Baja California. There’s less than two dozen left, by most estimates, because they get caught in fishing nets as by-catch for shrimp and the similarly threatened totoaba fish. The Mexican government has protections in place for the vaquita, but they tend to go unenforced.
This year, we lost one of the leading conservationists protecting the vaquita to the virus, Paco Valverde. It’s a big loss and honestly pushed me to go this route with my pet this year, despite having already done a cetacean last year.
The only hints that probably need explaining are “To catch glimpse of the future, look to the past. But take care, for it may soon be gone forever.” and DISAPPEARING - both reference to how we are within months or years of losing the vaquita forever, and the first one also points to Munin… a fellow cetacean-type.
