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 Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:42 pm
“Mhm,” Aina replied, scattering the seashells back into the sand when her search was for naught. Hugging onto Cruz's arm, she hopped a bit in order to see the whelk shell he managed to find, gasping when there was a slight bit of movement – disappointed though she was, she couldn't help laugh at the hermit crab, waving at it as Cruz set it on the ground and it went scampering back under the rocks.
The tide rolled in against the crags again, a faint breeze picking up the scent of sand and seaweed. Aina listened to Cruz as he spoke, believing him as she always did, but this time with her head bowed. Truth be told, she never remembered having to float past a bunch of rocks to get to the tide pool.
“Maybe there's another one over here,” Aina replied. Wiping the water off on her shirt, she studied the rocks briefly before her. She set off again without another word, floating onward into the shadow looming under the cliff and its wide, thin bridge made of rock. Only a sliver of sand beyond the two's pathway was visible from their vantage.
Something tugged at Cruz's ribbon as the tide ebbed back to the ocean – it was a small hand outstretched from underneath a shell.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:44 pm
As close as she had been, Cruz was unprepared for Aina to start off again so soon. She left his side and Cruz startled; he glanced over his shoulder, unable to see anything he could recognize of Anita or Mordekai, and wondered just how far away they had gone. While he wasn't too pressed about time, nor a stickler for following directions, the beach was expansive and he didn't want to lose track of their family.
“Aina, don't--” His ribbon snagged as he went to follow. Cruz looked down, expecting the tattered tip to be caught on a rock or shell. Instead, the tiniest most delicate fingers gripped the fabric. He was so uncertain of what he saw, Cruz moved lower to get a better look. “Aina! Come back, I think it's a fairy!” He looked in the direction she had gone, only to find her all the more distant.
Cruz cupped the sides of his hands together to try and scoop up the shell as carefully as he could without jostling its little inhabitant so he could take it to Aina before she got out of sight.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:45 pm
A small fairy with hair as thick and wavy as seaweed smiled as it was held up by Cruz, dark and beady eyes staring up at him curiously. Once the Sigel began moving, it looked onward at the direction he went, then down at the rocks as it noticed the small scurrying sounds of other seashells crawling through the thin cracks between rock. These fairies were the type that tended to flock, and whether Cruz liked it or not, a few were scurrying closely to his ribbon, some even grabbing at it to find a way to climb up to their friend.
Aina, meanwhile, found the other end of the crag much quicker than she thought.
She squinted as she approached the sunlight from past the cliff overhang. The sand was smooth here, trailed occasionally by moss and small, smooth rocks closer to the cliff wall. She could hear the sound of the tide roll softly against the shore clearly in the silence, and in the distance, she saw an arch of rock lit from underneath by a shallow pocket of water. The arch stood high and strong above the ocean's edge, like a gateway, and the Frei watched water slosh against it before carefully proceeding forward.
It felt strange here, Aina thought. Maybe it was from wandering in shadow, but the sun seemed a little brighter here, the ocean reflecting a deep aquamarine, painting the rock and moss with a glowing teal. Not a footprint had touched anything in this part of the beach.
When Aina reached the edge of the sand, just before the arch's stretch of thin ocean, she looked back to see if Cruz was nearby. She hugged the wall of the cliff, uncertain; though she could see him, Cruz was very far from where she was. He had been right, and she knew he always was – this wasn't where the tide pool was at all.
Still – she wanted to see what was ahead. Maybe, probably, there was a better tide pool just past this alcove.
“Hello?” she asked, glancing up at the cliff face. The only response she received was her own echo – hello?
Breathing in, she slowly floated to the surface of the water. With the edge of the cliff was her buoy, Aina was able to cling onto the rock and navigate just above the ocean's surface. Carefully, she began her way past the second stretch of shadows.
As she rounded the corner of the arch, Aina saw the wall of the cliff laying bare to the ocean, a pocket of it carved inward – a shallow alcove. She felt protected underneath the darkness of the arch. The water was still and calm.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:46 pm
”Ah–“ Cruz stalled again with more tugs to his ribbon.
He turned and looked down at the shells; many of them scuttled in his direction and more still grabbed for him. Never had he seen such a number of magic critters all at once. Their size alone rendered them harmless in the croc's mind but also fragile – he didn't want to tear away from them and injure their tiny fingers. ”Aina, come look!” Cruz called once more, only to feel his heart pang when there was no answer. ”Aina!”
Worried green eyes locked on the delicate beady ones of the shell fairy. Had she really gone so far ahead she couldn't hear him? He couldn't see Aina anymore from where he was. ”Sorry,” he offered the little shell lamely, as if the creature might have been disappointed to not meet the rainy frei. Cruz lowered back toward the rocky sand and the many eager fingers that pulled at him. ”I can't play right now. I need to get my friend.” The fairy in his hands was eased back onto the shore. Once released, he tried to retrieve his ribbon from their tiny grasps without too much disruption. ”We'll come right back when I get her and then we can play, okay?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:46 pm
Once the fairy was set back into the sand, it crawled away from its home underneath the shell, slowly and clumsily lifting itself up onto its legs to look up at the Sigel. The gaggle of other seashells that were tugging at Cruz's legs scurried to the fairy's side, only a few still tugging at Cruz's ribbon. Small heads poked out of the shell to stare at the stranger.
Some hissed, others rattled against the sand. If Cruz moved, they would follow.
“Hello?” Aina called out again, only to be met by another echo. She hugged the edge of the arch ever closer as she ventured away from its shadow, where the tide still sloshed against the rock, threatening to pull her away. The Frei stared down at the clear ocean depths, breathing in. Past the clear water, she could only see darkness. But she pressed on.
When she looked up again, the alcove was only a foot away. She reached her arm out to cling to the edge of the threshold. Watching the gentle tide roll in, she carefully pulled herself forward. She poked her head inside of the cavern.
It was dark inside, but the pocket of ocean inside offered some soft, faint light, and at the far side of the alcove, Aina saw some rags.
If she looked closely, they almost looked like shirts.
“Is anybody here?” she asked.
“Cruz! Aina!” Mordekai was sincerely proven wrong about how far Cruz and Aina could stray off on their own. He'd suggested to Anita that they wander left, to where the tide pools were – it was the only place Aina had wanted to see the last time they were there. But, even as the tide pool was drawing closer, neither of the Raevans were in sight.
“Where the hell...?” he grimaced, searching his pockets for his cellphone.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:49 pm
Anita huffed and glanced toward where they parked on the off chance the raevans wandered back to the car. No such luck and still no sign of them anywhere along the visible beach. “Dammit, Cruz.” Phone already in hand, she waved Mordekai down and held it to her ear. “I got it.”
Cloying fingers from tiny hissing fairies – maybe they didn't want to play after all. He managed to dislodge the fabric of his ribbon from their grasp and, in effort to keep it out of reach, he rolled it up over his arm. At the same time, he drifted away but found it difficult to take his eyes off of the mass of shells and strange tiny bodies attempting to follow him.
Between his focus on them and his mind on Aina's location, Cruz almost didn't notice the ring of his phone. The Yoshi's Story theme song played and he fumbled clumsily to answer.
”Nita–“ he answered but was quickly cut off.
”Where are you two?” Annoyance was clear in her tone, and Cruz grimaced, but more than that was a dash of underlying worry.
”Sorry – Aina went the wrong way, I'm getting her.” He truly was, now; he picked up his pace as best he could to where he saw the frei disappear.
While that did seem to placate Anita somewhat, it didn't diminish the seriousness of her voice. ”Thank you but that doesn't answer my question.”
”Um,” Cruz looked around his immediate area, ”there's a lot of big big rocks and the beach is all rough. We really went the wrong way.”
”That's the opposite side of the beach...” When Cruz confirmed with a murmur, Anita sighed. ”Don't move when you get her, okay? Just stay there and we'll come get you.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:49 pm
Aina waited, but no answer came. She pushed along quietly into the cavern, ribbon ripping carefully into the shallow water. When she looked back, the arch was in clear view, as was the path of sand. When she breathed, everything felt so close.
Her ribbon dragged along the water until she reached the foot of the alcove, a jagged and wet surface of rock and sand. Twirling around, she could see a circle of moss and strange fungi were framing the rags.
The silence here made her feel very small. Staring at the rags, slowly, Aina reached for one of the shirts. When she held it up against the sun, it was clearly a t-shirt, too big for her and soaked with salt water and dirt. On the center of it was a big sunflower.
There was a sound of hollow rattling in the distance. Small rocks slipped down the edge of the alcove. Gasping, the Frei quickly dropped the shirt, floating back to the edge of the alcove from where she'd entered.
“Cruz?” she called out, hugging the wall tightly, rune pulsing with her heartbeat. Again, silence, and Aina looked back at the beach. She squeezed her eyes shut, face red and hot as tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Cruz, I'm scared,” Aina said, weakly. Wiping her face with her palm, she glanced bleakly back at the arch. With the threat of more rattling and rocks falling from behind her, Aina quickly pushed forward.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:50 pm
He agreed to Anita's terms before hanging up. The distance he put between himself and the tiny seashell fairies was enough that he felt no need to hold his ribbon and Cruz was back to combing across the beach with both hands free and no distractions.
”Aina?” His voice didn't carry well on the wind despite their distance from the tourists. Cruz listened for any response. When there was nothing but the tide, he cupped his hands around his mouth and inhaled deeply – only to let the air out in one lame puff. Aina's voice echoed, faint but unmistakable, from an outcropping not too far ahead. He readied his breath again and projected farther, longer than before. ”Ainaaaa!” It echoed through the entrance.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:50 pm
Cruz's voice helped propel Aina along a little faster. By the time he called out a second time, she'd reached the arch. Relieved and exhausted, she hopped off onto dry land at last, floating quickly to where the Sigel was, faster than she was when they were exploring earlier.
Without a word, as soon as she was close enough, Aina leaped forward to give Cruz a tight hug, burying her face against his side.
“Cruz, I didn't find any tide pools,” she said, meekly, leaning back to rub her eyes. She was flustered, her rune pulsing a soft hue of pink as her hunger grew. “Can we go now?” Aina asked, staring up at the older Raevan with bleary eyes.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:52 pm
There was no hesitation in him when Cruz caught sight of the rainy frei. He was grateful for her own speed, as his attempt at reaching her faster was quite pitiful by comparison, but as soon as she was within reach his arms drew around her.
“There you are,” he breathed. His hands drifted to Aina's face and hair as she pulled back; fingers brushed her bangs away and tucked some hair behind her small ears. The sight of her misty eyed made a pout crease his features. “Yeah,” Cruz assured timidly with a glance to the outcropping she fled from, “Nita and Momo are lookin' for us.” He left the part of them worrying the two humans out, for now – it would be more than clear once they reconvened.
With a gentle hand to Aina's back, Cruz guided her away from the place that spooked her toward the closest landmark they had, the big rocks. “You okay?” The question came out far more quiet than Cruz intended but he managed to speak over the din of the tide.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:53 pm
The Frei held her head low as Cruz brushed her bangs. “'M sorry,” she murmured, sniffing and rubbing her eyes more as tears pushed and floated away from her eyes. She held tightly to Cruz as they returned to the bedrock, quiet and slow, looking back at the arch one last time. The roar of the tide was so much quieter on land, Aina realized, her hearing a bit dimmed from the loud sounds of the splashing water that had been below her.
Her heart was running fast, but the adrenaline managed to die off by the time they stopped and waited. Aina had managed to stop herself from crying, but the sound of rattling and rocks falling in the cavern had scared her, and she was flustered from being so lost and alone. “I'm okay,” she replied glumly, sinking low against the sand.
“I didn't know the tide pool was the other way...” Aina looked up at Cruz. “I should of listened to you.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:54 pm
Cruz tried to reassure her with a smile. For all he could tell, the little one was merely upset for being mistaken – how was he to know of what unsettled her in the alcove – but it was an innocent mistake brought on by eagerness; he had been in her position plenty of times before.
“It's okay.” He ruffled her hair softly. “We'll go to the tide pool when they catch up with us.” Unfortunately, that promise offered little solace as he had no idea how long it would take Anita and Mordekai to find the rocky shore.
His eyes cast down toward distant shells and a small breath left him. “Aina. I saw the fairies." Cruz smiled at her curiously, brows upturned in some pitiful plea to distract her. “Do you want to try and find 'em while we wait?” Anything that would make the wait go faster would be good at this rate but the croc hoped it would be a small adventure that would lighten Aina's spirits.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:54 pm
Aina only seemed to sink lower and lower into the sand, crouched low so she could hug her arms against her head for a little while. She nodded in reply, hopeful that Anita and Mordekai would show up soon. A few of the smaller rocks around her lose its footing on the ground as her rune fed to stave off the hunger, a few pebbles floating near where Aina was sitting.
Cruz managed to get the Frei to glance up as soon as he'd said those words. “Really?” she asked, almost whispering. She was still upset, unable to smile, but she wiped her eyes of a few more stray tears and nodded. “Mhm,” she murmured, floating a little higher off of the sand, “Where did you find 'em...?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:56 pm
“In the shells, like you said.” Cruz offered a hand to her as she pulled herself up. His smile came easier with her renewed interest, even if she couldn't manage to smile yet herself.
When they began to meander around the large rocks, Cruz was careful to stay within their general vicinity as Anita requested. Normally he would have not have been too fussed, though he did want to respect her wishes, but with her and Mordekai worried on top of Aina's low mood Cruz didn't want to take any chances. “They were kinda grabby,” he recalled. To illustrate, he reached down to hold his ribbon and twirl it against the ebbing tide and the seashells beneath like a lure.
As much as he wanted to share just how many he saw, Cruz saw little point; the likelihood of finding them again before they were whisked off by the adults was low to begin with but regardless he didn't want to get Aina's hopes up. “If we can't find 'em this time, at least we know they're around here somewhere.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:56 pm
The seashells had scattered, only a few still between the rocks. Aina managed to giggle when Cruz dipped his ribbon into the sand like a lure, and she leaned forward to observe. She still clinged to Cruz, but her grip around him loosened.
“If we don't see 'em... can we come back?” Aina asked, glancing briefly back at Cruz. Her expression lit with a hopeful smile, and she looked less flustered than before.
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