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 Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 2:11 pm
Maia took her pelt from the bag and disappeared into the water. In her place, a seal popped it's head out of the water. She bobbed her head, flicking water in Toby's direction. See? She hadn't escaped. She'd even stayed close to shore!
She flicked water towards Dari as well, before taking off, further from the shore. She sent more water in Dari's direction, and after a moment, dived.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 2:35 pm
Toby smiled and waved, knowing that Maia would be able to see him. He did trust her at his core but there was always that unimagined variable that could screw things up from the inside.
Dari watched her go and swam to her bag, tossing it further up the beach so it wouldn't wash away, and then dove in again. As he began to swim his legs began to fuse, slowly at first and then with more determination. Legs weren't the best limbs for swimming. Most sea-things had flippers and tails, so that was his goal. He was able to dive after Maia in a moment, arms close at his sides, and began to follow her where ever it was she wanted to go.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 3:11 pm
Maia caught sight of Dari, staring at him for a moment. She swam towards him and pressed her nose to his once she'd reached him. She looked pointedly towards a school of fish, diving towards them. Fish was always good, and it'd be especially good since she'd be roasting them with friends.
She snapped at a fish, and, holding it in her mouth, swam to the surface. She went towards the shore, dove under water, and shifted before popping out of the water, fish in hand. "Here!" she called to Toby. "Dari's turned himself into a merman, he looks hilarious!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 3:27 pm
Dari accepted the gesture and booped her back. He released the bubbles of air that had been stagnant in his lungs and followed as closely as he could. Rising in the water took work, but luckily he was immune to most creatures' feelings of fatigue and exhaustion. It was just a constant swooshing of altered pressure and the movement of membranes. It felt a little strange, sure, but he should be able to keep up with the seal... well, selkie. She wasn't a seal just because she was in the form of one. She caught the fish rather deftly and brought it back to Toby. My, her ability to magically transform was impressive. He and Toby both had a harder time of it, but for her it just seemed to be like taking off a coat.
Toby met her at the shore, and while he was not quite finished with the fire he did think to bring the ice-filled cooler. He accepted the fish and dropped it in, offering a laugh.
"I think that's still pretty suspect, darling," he told her. A woman just appearing out of the sea with a fish in her hand. "but we'll keep you safe, though. Two or three might be enough for you and me?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:08 pm
"Maybe. But most would just assume I'd been hand fishing," she said, shrugging. She came to stand on the shore for a moment. She didn't want Toby feeling left out. "I wish it were summer. Then you wouldn't have to worry about freezing."
She stood. "I'll go get us another. Maybe I can teach Dari how to fish." She headed back into the water. "Still looks funny. I'd take pictures if I could!" With that, she dove back underwater, shifting and glancing around for Dari. He did look awfully goofy with a tail, but perhaps only because she was so used to seeing him with legs.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:19 pm
"Well, then it'll just be 'Amazing Woman Hand-Fishes for Lazy Boyfriend,'" Toby said with a grin. He waved Maia back to the water. She didn't have to feel bad for him! He would be just fine out here, and they'd have a fire ready for when they got out. "You can try. He'd not the most coordinated slimesack out there, though." Even still he was smiling. When he teased Dari it was always fondly.
"Well, I'm sorry I can't see it." He waved as Maia went off again.
Dari was still under, treading water to watch the fish humming past. He didn't spend much time in the ocean, but he was beginning to wonder why. It really was rather gorgeous down here. He turned to see Maia and smiled. Goofy or not, it was much easier to move down here without legs. His hands had also adopted a webbed nature in experimentation. Would it make swimming even easier? He broke away then, moving rather quickly, and went around the back of a school of fish, herding them back toward Maia which they may have noticed a bit too late.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:48 pm
Maia was starting to understand affectionate teasing. She was rather amused when she caught sight of Dari again. Webbed hands, like a duck's feet. If she'd been able to tease, she would have. Instead she watched as he herded the fish closer to her. Perfect.
She dove after them, snapping as she went. She caught one, and indicated with her flipper that Dari should try catching one.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:56 pm
Dari took a sharp turn and followed the fish. He caught up to them but wasn't sure how to catch one. With his hands? He was more tacky than he was slippery so he struck out and tried to nab one. They all moved around him so he struck out with his other hand. Another miss. Hand-fishing was, after all, a rather difficult sport. He turned to Maia and shrugged. Maybe he was a better wrangler than he was a catcher.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 5:13 pm
Even in seal form, it wasn't hard to tell that Maia was laughing at him. She shook her head and swam up to him, dropping the fish she'd caught earlier for him to hold. Sometimes, she supposed, baby seals needed shown how to do things.
She dove after the school of fish, but didn't attempt to catch one. Two would be enough for the two eating tonight. She pointed to the surface with her tail, and began to rise. Wouldn't Toby be pleased when he realized she hadn't run?
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 5:28 pm
Dari didn't mind. For someone who survived on catching smaller swimmies for dinner his little display must have been pretty terrible. He'd have to fix his teeth next time. He was pretty apt at changing certain features but teeth were hard... literally and figuratively. He'd just need more planning in the future, and an assurance that Maia wasn't going to run away if he started to look like someone bred a gulper and a shark.
He took the fish, and then Maia went upside-down briefly. Oh, were they done? He stuck the tail of the fish in his mouth and followed the selkie up, but didn't quite break the surface yet. He went for the shore and crawled up on his elbows. Toby came to meet him and bent over to retrieve the fish the alien pulled from his mouth and offered up.
"Did you catch this?"
"Do those teeth marks look like I caught it."
Toby laughed slightly and inspected the fish. "No. Wow, your a** is huge."
"Well, there you go."
"Hey, if you two want to swim some more, I've just got the fire started. We have time," Toby said, gesturing to the effect he had been working toward while they swam. It lit the beach somewhat as the sky was only getting progressively darker. Dari looked to Maia for the answer.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:19 pm
By then, the selkie had transformed. She wandered out of the water, wringing out her hair. She made her way to shore and shook her head. "Nah. Here," She offered Toby the pelt. She had a feeling that if she kept it much longer, she'd be tempted to leave. And she'd promised.
"I'll go get some firewood," she offered. She gave her hair another twist. The night air was chilly, in this form. She wandered a few feet away to gather drift wood.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:30 pm
Toby nodded and took the pelt before tucking it into Maia's bag and setting it aside. It was awfully lonely out here, wasn't it? At least Dari would be coming back. It wasn't always the best thing to leave Toby alone to think.
Dari remained half in the water while he formed legs once more. Toes were important, he'd learned. You couldn't walk the same on flipper feet as with toes, not unless your feet were enormous and the last thing he wanted was to draw more unwanted attention to Maia's beach. At least now he was unpainted, fully sighted, and able to leave the sunglasses off. He wasn't the best for lifting heavy objects but some of the wood wasn't so bad. He went off to help Maia, but Toby stood and touched the chilly selkie on the shoulder.
"Hey, go sit by the fire, you're gonna catch cold. Are we cooking over the fire tonight? Do you have anything to do it with inside?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:50 pm
"We could," but maybe that had been a better idea for summer. "There's a stove inside," She said. "But I don't have any spices and I don't know how to cook." She knew how to light a fire, though. And fish tasted better cooked. "I have some long fork things inside. I use those." She wasn't sure their actual purpose, but they didn't melt in the flame.
She took Toby's hand. "You're lonely," she observed, quietly. "Me too."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:54 pm
In Toby's opinion it was not too cold for a beach fire, but if she'd rather he cook inside that was fine too.
"I picked up some stuff at the shop," he offered, "It won't taste too terrible." At least the fire he had made would just burn out safely here on the beach rather than risk a forest or a plot of grass. He was all smiles and optimism until Maia took his hand. That in and of itself wasn't so strange anymore, but her words were reasonably unexpected. His brow furrowed suddenly and he tried to pull his hand away.
"Excuse me?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 7:10 pm
Maia blinked, dropping his hand. "You just seemed lonely. Here on the beach. I thought you must miss your other friends." Had it been awkward to speak on her observation? She still hadn't completely adjusted. "I'm sorry I said anything. So what did you get at the store?"
She hoped to change the subject. She hadn't meant to offend him. "Do you like cooking?"
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