Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aphi laughed over at Natsuki, splashing a bit as he dropped himself into the water. His hoodie was wet now, and clinging to him, but at least it hid his skin. He grinned at Isi. "Oh, it's not that deep. Just make sure your feet are under you and you can just use your legs to keep your balance; feels weighless in here, huh?" Aph swam backwards a bit, further from Isi, and then splashed a racket with his feet, laughing. "Did you swim before, Isi? I don't figure you used to go to the beach a lot, but what do I know?"

"And for your information, I AM full of surprises," he called back to Natsuki. "Now come and join us!" He said, splashing in her direction. He noticed she was helping Eiry get used to the water, so he didn't insist... Poor Eiry had never seen the sea before. "Looks like your Raevan is a little water-shy," Aph whispered to his little brother.

Rivener, on the sand, was smiling and dreaming. He'd fallen asleep as soon as his eyes had closed. His dream was strange, everything around him was gigantic, and seperated from him by Glass... He was sitting comfortably on a rock and a small sun was shining on him directly, keeping him warm and happy. His life consisted of nothing but sitting and sleeping and eating, and he remembered Aphismet. Aphismet was the one who fed him, kept him warm and safe... He loved Aphi. He was worried when he began to feel tired, and Aphi began to feel sad...

If she was going to have any sort of fun, she'd need to let her hair down, literally. Pulling the hairpins and elastic bands from her hair, vibrant layers of red tumbled down her shoulders. Tucking them away in her pocket, she shook her head, letting the seaspray caress them gently. Throwing an impish grin at Aphismet, she winked, a clear indication that he would need to worry about terrors not native to the shallows.

"Blanket forts are like cardboard boxes, but way softer," the redhead beamed, wrinkling her nose cutely at Eiry. She tilted her head to the side, nodding politely in Isi's direction as he waded and later crawled into the shallows. She allowed Isi to comfort Eiry, merely nodding in agreement to help soothe the nervous raevan's skiddishness. When Eiry took her hand, she gave it a firm squeeze, clasping the other atop it. She waited for Eiry to finish drawing his ocean bath tub parallel, before interjecting.

"Don't worry, Eiry. Isi and I are right here," she smiled, gray eyes sparkling in the sunshine. Tossing her head to the side, and pointing over her shoulder with her thumb in Aphismet's direction, Natsuki continued, "And Aphi's right over there waiting. Best thing about the ocean, you can play with your friends."

Pursing his lips, Eirdirsceol thought about the options. Well, he could make everyone proud and 'walk' into the ocean. Or he could be a 'pansy', as Rivener liked to put it, and shy away from the water. Knitting his brows, Eiry glanced once over at Natsuki. She was kind, gentle, and an eager smile danced upon her lips. Perhaps, if he went in she would teach him about these...blanket forts. But then again, what if the ocean swallowed him whole? With the turn of his head, he glanced at Aphi. His other Uncle had a point. He'd want to make his brother proud by being brave and not being a pansy. But...That ocean...Turning to look down at his guardian, who looked up at him with his warm gray eyes, Eiry felt something clench within him. He didn't want to disappoint Isi. If anything bad happened, he trusted that Isi and the others would be there to help him. He also trusted in the hope that even Rivener would dive into the water if he was in trouble.

So...(Eiry gulped)...'Walk' into the water...Or 'walk' away.

...

Neither. He would do neither.

With a quick inhale of breath, the minty frei tore his hands away from Isi and Natsuki.

"Eiry!" Isi exclaimed, surprised by the sudden rude movement.

With a cry, Eiry ripped himself away from Isi and Natsuki and 'ran' into the ocean, bracing himself against the waves he went out as far as Aphi was previously, waist-deep. So he did neither, he neither walked away or into, he threw himself into the ocean. Now, waist deep, just deep enough so he could feel the ocean lap at his chest. Okay...So it wasn't as bad as he thought. Turning around, breathing heavily, Eiry calmed himself down and gave a quirky mischievous smile.

Laughing at his raevan's abrupt behavior, Isi shook his head back and forth. He definitely didn't expect that. He expected that Eiry would freak out, run to Rivener and beg him to come into the surf with him. "Eiry!" he called proudly, "You're one crazy ectoplasm-based phantom, you know that?!"

"I know!" Eiry beamed proudly.

Aphismet, already feeling mighty nervous from the previous winking episode, startled clear out of the water when Eiry yelled, and rushed past him. He lifted a hand to his heart and for a moment looked around, thinking that perhaps a jellyfish had scared Eiry...

The other two's laughter finally brought him back to reality, where things really weren't as bad as he'd made them out to be. He turned to see the wide grin on the Raevan's face, and he laughed in relief. "Holy crap, Eiry, don't scare me like that," he breathed.

He'd been about to join the minty Frei in the deeper water, when Natsuki rushed past him as well. He watched her run with much more attention that he should. She was so graceful when she dove, and her dramatic breach from the water, with small beads of diamond-like seawater flinging from her as she arched back, stole his breath. His eyes wide as dishes, he couldn't stop himself from staring at her all the way back, cheeks red as watermelon.

Hunh? H-had she asked a question?

"I, er... Durm, sahh... hm, heheh." He grinned stupidly. Hopefully that reply answered what she wanted.


On the beach, Rivener's dream had been rudely interrupted by a sudden scream he recognized all too well; Eiry! Quick as a scorpion's tailstrike, Riv was up and advancing towards the scream, looking around blearily while his eyes adjusted to the light again. As soon as he could see properly, he sighed and crossed his arms across his bare chest in annoyance. Eiry was fine. He was in the water, even, grinning like a doofus. What had him so worked up?

Detecting no danger, Rivener simply shrugged and floated back to his spot, settling down into the sand again, enjoying the gritty feeling against the skin of his back.

Natsuki giggled as Aphismet so eloquent answered her question. He really was a sweet guy, and thinking about him with Chloe was simply magical as far as the cafe owner was concerned. Caught up in the moment with the water, the actual amont of clothing she'd been wearing slipped her mind. Feeling a bit guilty, she sunk a bit lower into the water, allowing her hair to pool around her torso in a vain attempt to make Aphismet more... comfortable. When Isi joined the conversation, relief washed over her face and she nodded emphatically in agteement.

"I grew up on these beaches, so when I get the chance to play here, I feel ten years old all over again," Natsuki said with a cheerful smile, pushing some hair from her eyes. Touching the seabed beneath her, Natsuki lightly raked the silt with her finger tips. One of the best things about the beaches of Gambino was the powdery soft sand, which melted through ones fingers. The best sand castles were made with finer sand, and raising a handful of wet sand above the water, she grinned, watching it slide through her fingers, returning to the sea. After a few moments, a small sand dollar laid in the palm of her hand.

"These are one of my favorite shells. It's called a sand dollar," Natsuki said, holding the green and brown shell up for the others to see. Unlike the ones often seen in gift shops, live sand dollars lacked that brittle, bleached white exterior. The shell was lined with a brittle fur, shimmering in the sunlight. "These look great on sand castles. How about we collect some shells and coral, and build a sand castle on the beach?"

Isi chuckled lightheartedly at his raevan. It was amazing. These raevans didn't appear to be toddlers, but every time Eiry revealed his true young innocent nature, did Isi remember that freis were only a few years old at heart. Grabbing onto Aphi's arm, Isi piped up, "I brought some goggles. They're Maasi's but they'll work all the same. They're in the towel bag." He would go get them himself, but...Well, the reasonw hy he couldn't was clear. Turning back to Natsuki, Isi nodded, "I have never made a sand castle. Let's make one!"

Giving a low growl of displeasure, Eiry rubbed at his eyes again and watched his dancing reflection with defeat. He wanted to lean down and press his face into the wet world of the ocean. When he looked up and watched Natsuki pull up a strange shaped rock that they called a sand dollar, Eiry wanted even more to delve into the realm of wet. If he had legs, Eiry would've used his toes to dig in the sand and retrieve more of these sand dollars. Unfortunately, he didn't have feet and therefore he didn't think about it. The only thing concerning his mind right now was how to get underwater without hurting his eyes.

"I want goggles," Eiry told Aphi, floating near him and tugging on his shirt. He gave Aphi his best blood red Bambi eyes that he could muster.

Aphismet grinned at Eiry's demand for goggles. "Alright, I'll go get them," he said, smiling at Isi and Natsuki before going. He kept an eye on the seabed as he waded out, fishing out a sea dollar just like Natsuki had said, laying right there! Strange how he'd never really noticed any of those things on the seafloor before. He turned and showed off his little treasure, saying "Look at that! I'm one dollar richer!" He chuckled at his bad humor.

As he exited the water, Aph wrung his sweater. It was all ok when he was IN the water, but it was darned uncomfortable when you came out! He'd have to be careful not to drip on Rivener, or the unnaturally good-humored Frei might get angry and go back to his usual surly self.

Aph made his way to the bags (giving Riv a wide berth, but raising an eyebrow at seeing his Raeven topless, wondering if this was supposed to be allowed) and dug around, quickly coming out with a pair of goggles. It was the diver kind, wide and porthole-like, with a breathing tube attached to the side. Aph smiled. Perfect!

He came back just as Natsuki was marking the area with an X. He nodded. "I have no problem with building here, you're the expert! Here, Eiry, goggles!" He waved them in the air to attract the minty boy's attention. "Come and get them! Isi, are you going to stay there and help out Eiry?" Aph mostly asked because he knew Isi wouldn't like to be seen crawling around on the sand, but perhaps if he could just make it to the castle's area he could just sit and build it... It's up to Isi, really. Aph would help him "cover" his failings as much as he needed.

Rivener did get a few droplets of water flung onto his chest as Aph hurried by, but it wasn't enough to ruin the Raevan's mood. He simply frowned, hmphed, and wiped the drops off. A quick turn and he was warm and comfortable again.