Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Well, it's our day off," Aysu said cheerfully, sitting down next to Naida.

Ta'neer giggled and sat on the other side of Naida. "We're always up for a swim."

"Hey, look over there!" Aysu beamed, pointing up the beach towards where the Water Elves had their homes. "Dwr and Aennan! You haven't met Aennan yet, I don't think," she added for Naida's benefit. "He's a bit of a bore sometimes, but he can be fun."

Ta'neer turned to take a look, despite her constant protests that she was not interested in Dwr. "Hey, who's that with them?" she asked. "I've never seen her before ..."

"I have." Aysu was squinting to see better. "She's that painter girl ... Naida, I think she came here with you. Who is she?"

Aysu grinned at the other girls. "Shall we call them over?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Ta'neer looked torn between wanting to call the three of them over to join them and wanting to leave. Eventually, her curiosity about the new girl won out - along with the hope that with two more people there, Dwr might not be a jerk.

"Yeah," she said finally, nodding half-heartedly.

Aysu jumped to her feet again immediately and waved both arms wildly to catch the attention of the others. "Hey! Dwr! Aennan! Over here!" she shouted as loudly as she could.

For a moment, it seemed as though they didn't see her, but then Dwr raised one hand and gave a thumbs up, and the three of them changed direction slightly and headed towards the girls.

"You gonna stick around, Ta'neer?" Aysu grinned at her sister, turning towards her again.

Ta'neer stuck her tongue out at her.

"That's why I'm sticking around," Ta'neer smiled. "I think I trust Dwr to behave with others around."

"Mm hmm, you sound like you're trying to convince yourself," Aysu grinned. "What say we give them a fun welcome? Tackle them all into the water?"

"No, we'll just cause trouble." Ta'neer shook her head. "Besides, we don't know Aranxia at all yet, that wouldn't be a good first impression. And if she has her painting stuff with her like she usually does then we'll just ruin it all."

"Yeah, yeah," Ta'neer muttered, "I know."

Aennan turned out to be a Water Elf as well, though his hair was blue-green rather than just blue, and his eyes and skin were more pale and translucent than Dwr and the twins'.

"Morning," Dwr greeted the three girls with a grin. "Long time no see. Naida, have you met Aennan?"

The pale-skinned man leaned forward and held out a hand to Naida. "We've not had the pleasure," he smiled warmly. "Hello."

"Day off," Dwr took it upon himself to answer. He grinned. "We were heading to the beach and saw the three of you down here. What are you up to?"

"We were going to go swimming," Aysu beamed. "Going to join us?"

Aennan looked at Aranxia. "Well, we were going to try to teach Aranxia how to swim," he said softly, his pale teal eyes slightly anxious.

Aranxia herself looked rather nervous, but she smiled at the group. "Don't let us hold you back, though," she told them quietly. "Please. Dwr can swim with you and we can just catch up with you all later."

She was dressed for swimming, too, in skin-tight leggings that went to her knees and a short, tight dress, both of which were made of a special kind of water-resistant material. It fit her perfectly, so it was clear that it had been made for her, though of course she had not owned it when they'd first arrived in the city.

"Aw, we can just play a game in the shallow water," Aysu protested. "Then no one gets left out! Come on, what do you all think?"

"That's fine with me," Ta'neer agreed. "If we did anything in deeper water, Aennan would out-swim us all anyways so it wouldn't be fair."

"He would even out-swim you and me, Naida," Dwr added, nodding at the mer.

Dwr grinned at Aennan. "Aennan's got a nice ball we could use," he offered.

"It's at home," Aennan said sheepishly.

"You don't live far," Aranxia pointed out, "we could go get it."

"You stay here," Aennan said quickly, smiling at Aranxia. "I can run for it quickly. That way there will be less temptation to loiter and the others won't have to wait as long."

"Or the two of you could go, take your time, and the rest of us could get a race in while we wait," Dwr grinned at the two of them. "You two really are unbelievable. Spend all day every day together and now when you're faced with a decision of who's going to go get a ball, you can't make up your minds. Honestly."

"Better than some people," Ta'neer said innocently, looking at the sky.

Aennan chuckled. "All right, then. Don't wait for us, we might be a while."

"But we'll be back," Aranxia added seriously, taking Aennan's hand. "And I'll make sure we're not gone too long. He's been promising to teach me to swim all week." She waggled one finger in the man's face. "I'm going to hold you do that, you know."

"Is that a promise?" Aennan winked at her.

Aranxia blushed but laughed. "Yes. Now come on." As she and the water elf headed off, she called over her shoulder, "We won't be long, I promise."

"See you soon!" Aysu grinned at the two of them.

Dwr was eying Ta'neer. "What's that comment supposed to mean?" he asked her.

She glared at him. "Isn't it obvious? How long has Aennan known Aranxia, and there's no doubt he's courting her - but for crying out loud all I get from you is annoying! You need to make up your mind about what you want!"