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Aysu got a mischievous look in her eye, and she grinned at Naida and put a finger to her lips. She nodded towards the water, inviting Naida to go swimming with her while Dwr and Ta'neer worked out their issues.

Dwr seemed stunned by Ta'neer's outburst. "What ..."

Ta'neer face-palmed. "Ugh! Valar help me, Dwr, sometimes you can be such an idiot!"

Aysu was not an underwater breather, but she loved the water as much as any full-blooded water elf, and once she was immersed she struck out for deeper water. She kept her head under the water as much as she could to block out Dwr and Ta'neer's argument, though part of her wanted to listen in.

And it seemed that poor Dwr wasn't going to get off easy any time soon.

By the time Aranxia and Aennan returned, a brightly coloured ball tucked under Aennan's arm, Ta'neer had joined the girls in the water and Dwr was sitting, sulking, and watching them, a vivid red mark shaped suspiciously like a hand on one of his cheeks.

"No race?" Aennan asked Dwr, looking at the girls in the water.

"Thought I'd wait for the two of you," Dwr shrugged. "I'll get the girls."

He pushed himself to his feet and ran into the water to call them back for a game.

Ta'neer and Aysu were close behind Naida, both of them grinning (though Aysu the more cheerfully of the two) as they joined the others on the beach.

"Aennan, here!" Aysu grinned, holding her hands out for the ball.

Aennan grinned and tossed it to her, and the girl ran back into the water.

"So what game shall we play?" Ta'neer asked, staying back where the water was still waist-deep on her.

"Why don't we just toss the ball around a bit?" Aennan suggested. "It's nice and calm. This is Aranxia's first time in the water, after all."

"You don't need to make me sound like an invalid," Aranxia laughed softly. "I may never have thrown a ball or been in the ocean, but that doesn't mean I need to hold others back from playing a game. Now come on, suggest a real game. I'll never learn if I don't try."

"Keep away," Dwr grinned immediately.

The others nodded.

"Yeah, and if you're the one responsible for the 'it' person getting the ball, then you take their place," Dwr grinned.

"You would know, it's your favourite game," Ta'neer quipped.

Aysu, who was right beside her, dunked her twin under the water. "Griper."

Dwr grinned and tossed the ball to Naida. "For that quip, Ta'neer's 'it' first!"

Ta'neer surfaced a few feet away from Aysu. "I heard that," she told Dwr, and though her eyes were narrowed, she was grinning at him. "All right. I'll be 'it' first."

She turned to face Naida, waiting for her to throw the ball so that she could possibly intercept a pass.

Aysu caught the ball easily and grinned at her sister. "Want it?"

This time, Ta'neer didn't wait for the ball to be thrown. She tackled her twin into the water and simply grabbed the ball away from her, then stood over her and grinned. "Yup."

Aysu spit out the water she's taken in when she'd fallen and, laughing, moved to stand between the others.

"I don't think that's a legal move, but I'll go with it," she grinned. "Now don't hog the ball."

Ta'neer threw the ball just over Aysu's head, and Aysu missed catching it by only half a second. Aennan caught it and grinned and without pausing, he passed it off to Aranxia.

"Oops!" Aranxia cried as she dropped the ball into the water. "Oh, that's cold!"

Aysu, seeing an opportunity, ran towards Aranxia and tried to pounce on it. Aranxia got it just in time, but the resulting splash sprayed her with water.

"Naida!" Aranxia called, shivering slightly as she tossed the ball in Naida's direction again.

Aysu didn't hesitate. She was comfortable enough with Naida that she didn't have an reservations about tackling the mer for the ball - and that's just what she did. She had to fight the density of the water, but she charged towards Naida, intent on getting the ball away from her.

"Over here!" Dwr called, holding his hands up and ready to receive the hopeful pass from Naida.