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Sinking further beneath the icy blue depths, lungs burning for oxygen, she felt the panic beginning to rise in her once more. The same panic she had felt back at the shoreline. The same panic that had vanished completely almost as quickly as it had arrived. She felt it gripping at her heart, constricting her chest. Surely it would have made it just as impossible for her to breathe above the surface with the way it was squeezing her, like a giant's fist. She wasn't expecting a savior or a hero. She honestly wasn't even sure anyone on her team had noticed her fall... and even if they had, they hadn't the slightest clue that the tiny human they'd come to known as brave and adventurousness hadn't the slightest clue. By the time they noticed something was wrong, they would still have to swim out to her, and by the time they actually reached her, it would be much too late. At this point, Zylah had even stopped kicking and flailing. The motions seemed too entirely futile. It just made her muscles burn and eat through her remaining oxygen much more quickly. Instead she had submitted herself to her fate, letting herself sink. The girl was not afraid of death. It was something she had faced many times, something she knew would come to her at one point... However, drowning seemed like a particularly awful way to go.

In an attempt to distract herself from the pain in her torso and the dark shapes blurring her vision, she focused her vision instead on the beautiful seen playing out in front of her. Beneath the depths of the ocean, a beautiful aquatic world was on display. brightly colored fish swimming past her, vibrant coral with seaweed dancing so elegantly between it. It really was a wonderful sight, but something else cut through it, quite literally. Her surfboard was driving impossibly towards her and all Zylah could do was stare wide-eyed, both eyes visible for once as her pale locks sprawled around her. She was too shocked and confused to feel even the slightest bit relieved as the surfboard scooped her up from underneath so that she was now straddling it. However, she listened to the strange, seemingly disembodied voice, her hands gripping the edges of the board. As the breached the surface of the water in a spray of ocean water, shining beneath the sun like a thousand diamonds, Zylah sucked in a large breath. falling forward on the board and a fit of coughs wracked her body. After a moment she was left in a small heap upon the board, sputtering as her lungs finally manged to hack up all the water she had swallowed, breathing heavily as her heart strained to pump the oxygen through her veins once more.

"Should we return to shore?"

Having been so preoccupied with feeling her lungs with oxygen once more, she hand't even heard the vice until that question. It was the same voice she'd heard beneath the water, though it was less distorted now. Bolting upright so quickly she rocked the board and almost slipped off it once more. That graceful elegance she carried while on land seemed to be completely amiss here in the water. She twisted her head around, searching for the source of the voice, almost expecting someone to be floating beside her. Finding no one, she returned her gaze to the board, one a bright cerulean blue that rivaled that of the sky, and the other a milky white, s similar to the wispy clouds trailing its surface. However, both were lit with a child-like curiosity. "How odd.." Seemed to be the only thing she could think to say as she slowly brushed her fingers lightly over the surface of the board, staring at it as if she were trying to discern exactly what sorcery possessed it. Little did she know it was just that, a possession, by a wheel-chaired girl just off the shore. There were no thoughts of insanity, just a simple curiosity to figure it out.

"WE NEED HELP!"

However, it was all interrupted by the distressed plea from her captain. Eyes shooting up, she searched through the waves. noticing Aaron but no trace of Luina. For a moment she wondered if Luina didn't know how to win either... If that were the case she would feel rather silly for being so embarrased about not knowing how herself that she nearly died because of it. Yet, if that were the case it didn't explain Aaron just standing there and it wasn't long after that she noticed the blue-haired girl standing near their now fallen umbrella, Charlotte kneeling near the fallen body of the man she had been hugging just moments before. It seemed with the distraction of nearly drowning and her possessed surfboard, she'd missed all the commotion. The idea of learning to surf on a board that drive it's self was just all too tempting, she found herself looking longingly out at the waves, however, her team was in distress and it would be wrong not to help. Sighing softly she looked down at the board. "Thanks for the save, pal. I'd be fish food were it not for you... whoever you are...... but do you mind giving me a lift?" She questioned, jerking her chin towards the shore where her team was gathered.

it was true that the too of them would never truly know the extent to which each suffered for the other. Eli on the daily, with her pestilence and the neverending dryness which often turned to rawness. Him, who was the only person alive to share those same scars that she did. Those formed from overexposure to her toxic semblance. Made worse to the fact that he never held any sort of restraint when it came to her. Not even when he could afford it, so when she was sick, or in need, there was never the slightest of hesitation. But, then there was Kali, small and delicate as she might seem, even taking her nature out of the picture, there was a fierceness inside her that one might see if they knew just how to poke and prod her. Take the bandits all those years okay. Eli had been too we erk to defend himself or too defend her, drained of blood, energy, and aura, it was all she could do to keep their attention off of him, the spider boy. All she could do to keep him alive, her spider boy. Yet, after years of pain and suffering, neither of them seemed bothered by the fact. They would charge blindly into it all over again if it meant saving the other, and more so, if it meant staying together.

Stuck in a trap, but one he didn't mind 8n the slightest, Eli rested his chin upon her head, staring out at the waves gently washing up onto the shore and back again. At this rate they might not ever actually make it to the water, but he couldn't say he really minded. He was perfectly content to sit here with her in his arms until the towel rotted away and they were forced to separate lest he be succumbed to a much worse fate then itchy, dry skin. He sighed softly to himself, po hushing the thought from his brain and focusing instead on the here and the now and the oh-so precious being tangled up in his limbs. "My only wish is to provide nothing but the best of thrones for my queen, my persistence is nothing but an added benefit in this case." He teased gently, the cheeky grin returning to his lips. He let the quiet linger between them, listening to the gentle sounds of the ocean as the sea breeze tugged softly at their locks. Voices and laughter echoed around the pair, but it was lost to them. They were in a world all their own. A world they shared, oly them, and he was happy to keep it that way.

Eli was unable to do much else but smirk down at her and over overly dramatized reaction to his playful threats. "Oh, is that so?" He questioned, raising a dark brow at her that little smirk plastered to his lips. It was such an easy expression, a natural expression, a totally Eli expression, as she might put it. "You do look quite miserable. You clearly aren't enjoying yourself in the slightest. What a pitiful life." He went on sarcastically, though if she looked closely enough she would see the gears turning behind his baby blues. The workings of what could be no less than a mischievous plan. "No, no... that just won't do. We couldn't have that. I'll just have to fix that." He grinned at her, a child who knew the exact extent of trouble he was about to be in but was not hindered by it in the slightest. If anything, it only encourages him more. If he would have been still, would have let her rest just a while linger, it was very likely she would have fallen asleep. She often did if left to the soft rhythm of his heart for extended periods of time. Eli wouldn't have minded. In fact it was safest for him while she was asleep, as her pestilence seemed to diminish when she slipped into the unconscious realm. However, this was her first time at the beach and even though they could come back in the due future, the battle for that would likely not be nearly as hard as it was the first time, Eli was determined to make sure she enjoyed herself to the fullest this time around.

The spider faunus moved quickly and fluidly, transferring his arms so that once stopped her right under the knees while the other cradled her back, keeping her close to his chest. He stood with what seemed like minimal effort before make a mad dash for the waves, carrying her as easily as if she were nothing but a life-size rag doll. In all honesty, her petite stature and petite fram was not much in comparison. The grin on his face grew as his feet hit the waves and he ran through the icy waters, the crystalline drops spraying around them, chilly as they splashed upon their skin. Once they were far enough out, Eli smirked down at her. "Plug your nose." He warned lightly before gently tossing her into the water a couple feet ahead of them. He watched just long enough for her to break the surface of the water before diving in himself, a small chill running up his spine as the cold waves enveloped him.

Upon receiving the bag with the swimming suit his master had instructed Dani to purchase, Jentel walked away, presumably to change. The pink hair girl waited, holding their spot in line, still slightly pink cheeked and appearing to try and make herself as tiny as possible. There were a lot of people and with that, a lot of commotion. The smell of the sizzling meat was still making her nauseated and the noise surrounding the bungalow was making her rather jumpy. Ahe was finding herself growing increasingly uncomfortable, especially with the lack of the much taller guy at her side. She hadn't really noticed how dependent she'd come on Jentel. Not to say she couldn't do things for herself. It wasn't that type of a dependency. It was more so that she felt slightly more comfortable with him near her. Not entirely afraid of the world. It was strange... it wasn't like that with Feng, though that could be accounted to her torturous nature, but it wasn't like that with Ulysses either. The most she could determine was it had something to do with that first day they'd met back in the cafeteria and the fact that she had clung to his side ever since. Both her her own comfort, but also to help him l. Not just because his master had asked her to, but because she wanted to. The entire situation was rather confusing and the more she thought about it the more crimson her cheeks turned.

Daenerys waited for nearly thirty minutes for him to return. The shy faunus wasn't a very good place holder. That was likely contributed as much to her timid nature as it was the fact she was dreading reaching the front of the line. Unaware that there were mushroom tops grilling, she feared having to turn down the meat that Tessa had worked so hard to cook. Dani had no intentions of hurting anyone feelings or causing offense. Especially when, despite the fact that Dani didn't know Tessa well, she had stopped Feng's vicious little attacks towards her from time to time. It was something Dani would never forget and always be grateful for. Eventually after waiting for so long, Dani came to the conclusion that Jentel would not be returning. She might not admit it, but that fact saddened her. Not o ly that but it brought a familiar sensation of anxiety bumbling in her chest. Ahe couldn't help but fear that she had done something wrong. Had she bought the wrong kind of suit? Did the fact that his master contacted her and not him anger the guy? Had he possibly seen the messages over her shoulder and become offput by the underlying and suggestive meaning of some of them? The list could go on and on. The more she thought about it, the mire the bubble of anxiety grow. It expanded to the point it was pressing g against her rib cage, crushing her lungs. It made it hard to breath. It would be nearly impossible to miss the look of panic in her wide violet eyes. Though her breathing was quiet, her chest rose up and down much too rapidly to be calm. Her slender arms were wound tightly around her stomach as if she were trying to hold herself together.

Dani had reached her breaking point. Between the general loud crowdedness of the beach, all the noisy commotion, Jentel's absence, and the idea that she might have offended him and lost whatever friendship they had... it was all too much. Amethyst orbs once again laid sight at the gentle waves in the distance. Filled with a deep longing, she didn't hesitate at that point. Stepping out of line, she found an empty spot on the beach, tossing her towel, bag, scroll, and the left over money in a haphazard pile in the sand before nearly sprinting towards the water. She didn't stop or slow until her toes squished between the damp sand. An overwhelming sense of calm enveloped her as the chilly waves washed over her feet. She stood there for a moment, letting the anxiety that had crippled her just moments ago float away like sea foam. She felt light. Weightless even. More so than she had in a very long time. A soft smile tugged on her lips as she stepped forward, walking until she was wading in waist deep water. Only then did she stop, staring out at the beautiful vast waters before her. Pink locks so long the ends dipped into the ocean, sprawled out and carried on the waves.

For one so timid and closed off on land, Dani was entirely opposite here in the sea. Her fragile and delicate nature, the way in which she carried herself, seemed less frail and more elegant. Feet that were constantly tripping over thamselves were overtaken by a bit of grace. She was an entirely different person, feeling at home within the icy depths.The crystalline surface reflected off her her jewel colored eyes, glimmering on her skin and bringing out its iridescent glow. Whether that be due to her faunus nature or the fact that she grew up surrounded by the ocean was hard to say. She was still for a moment, before diving head first into the waves. She swam with ease, out a few feet farther before resurfacing an a spray of salt water, shaking her head to get the long bubblegum colored strands out of her eyes.