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 Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 12:58 pm
Tuelden had decided that Awin needed to make some friends. So he'd brought her to the facilities so she could swim. She loved swimming and while there was a lake not too far from the clearing he'd made into his home, she preferred swimming in the ocean.
The young girl was splashing happily in the shallow water, careful not to swim too far out. Her daddy couldn't exactly swim, though he could stand in water that was much too deep for her! However, he was currently lying in the shade a short distance from the beach. Close enough to keep an eye on her and hear if she cried out, but far enough away to not get sand on his flanks.
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Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:11 pm
It was a rare thing that Japi could get Lori to come to the shallows. Lori, like all children born at Mer Co, could sprout legs, but she disliked doing so, and usually undulated her long tail part as a snake does for movement along land or in shallow water. And even this she was uncomfortable (mostly emotionally) with doing.
Japi smile as she felt the sand between her toes as the tiny waves lapped across her feet, washing away any sand that got above the soles of her feet. Lori was several meters from her, staying in the water as much as she could.
"Momma," Lori mumbled. "Why do we have to come to the shore?"
Japi took a patience breath, the kind she took when she knew she would be explaining things slightly beyond a child like Lori's understanding. "It's good for you to meet other people, other mer-children like yourself. You liked Alex alright," she reminded Lori.
"He was small," was Lori's only reply.
Japi knew that, at least to Lori, smaller didn't mean less scary. Quite the contrary, the smaller something was, the more she worried over it, always watching things that are small, making sure they don't sneak up on her. Japi nodded, trying to pretend she didn't know all that, and smiled.
Lori was watching the water part in front of her waist, the rest of her body submerged. She didn't see the people in the distance, but Japi did. Enough of a walk, and you're bound to run into someone from Mer Co around here. She could tell from this distance that one was a mer, in the water, bigger than Alex, but still much smaller than Lori. Trial by fire may have been too strong a phrase, but it was still a similar idea. Japi just hoped it worked out for the best. To continue the metaphor, she hoped Lori didn't get burned. Japi almost visibly shuddered at the concept and pushed the thought out of her mind.
No use making up situations to worry over. If she did that, she'd end up like Lori.
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:20 am
Awin looked around as she heard voices. Multiple voices. The open water around her allowed the sound to travel farther to reach her ears. The girl swam for a short distance towards the sound before she spotted a woman walking and something else in the water near the woman.
"Hihi!" The girl called out happily, swimming towards them to meet them faster.
Tuelden rose to his hooves when he heard Awin call out a greeting. Sticking to the forested area, he moved closer to see just who the girl was talking to. It wouldn't be one of the people who worked for Mer Co... Awin didn't like them that much. No, this would have to be someone who looked nice. And appearances could be deceiving...
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:18 pm
Lori jumped at the voice. It was still a safe way off, so she turned to see who it could be.
Japi smiled when she saw it was another mer swimming toward them. But she looked young. Where was the parent? She looked around and saw no one. Well if this poor child had no parent, Japi would take care of that as quick as she had taken in Lori and a zillion other lost children throughout the many years of her life.
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Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 9:25 am
Awin happily swam up to them, waving as she got close. This other kid was very very long! She could see that now. This kid was kinda like her, part fishy! Her daddy was part horsey. What was this woman part? "Hihi! I'm Awin!"
Tuelden sighed as the girl got even closer. What was the point of all his lessons about strangers if she was going to ignore them? He started across the beach, something he wasn't overly fond of. His hooves did not do well in sand. At least not the dry sand out here. Close to the water was okay, but he greatly preferred the forest.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:27 pm
Lori couldn't very well hide behind Japi this time, since Japi was on the beach and Lori was in the water. So she replied softly, "hi." She pulled her tail in front of her. "I'm Lori."
Japi was much less nervous, of course. "Hello there, I'm Japi."
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Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:33 pm
The girl grinned, pointing to first the other child and then the adult. "Lori, Japi," she repeated in a rather sing-song voice. "Wanna play?" Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention and she grinned. "Daddy! Play wif us!"
The centaur shook his head. "You go play, Awin..." He glanced to Japi and gave a bit of a nod. "I'm Tuelden, caretaker of young Awin there." He was still not very happy with this group of humans who thought they owned the land around here and had therefore thrust this little girl into his care in return for 'allowing' him to stay where he'd started to make a home. His tail flicked in irritation.
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:06 am
Japi was a bit surprised to see a centaur as the caretaker of a child of the water, but she didn't say anything. He didn't seem to be in a good mood anyway.
"Go play with Awin," Japi turned and instructed Lori in that 'It'll be a good experience for you' voice.
Lori knew what her mother was saying and nodded. She looked at Awin and decided she wasn't small enough to disappear and then scare her, so Lori relaxed a bid, though only as much as she ever did with new people, which wasn't all that much. "You wanna swim around?" It was the only game that she could think of.
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Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:42 am
Awin pouted a bit that her daddy wasn't going to play with them. He didn't like playing with her in the water. She didn't understand why. The water was so much fun! It was wet and cool and fun! However, Lori's suggestion cheered her up. "Okay!"
"Not too deep, Awin." Tuelden reminded the girl with a sigh. So what if she was part fish? He seemed the type to worry obsessively over the little girl getting hurt. Typical daddy.
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Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 9:39 am
Lori liked Awin's daddy. He gave good advice. She started swimming. For once, Lori had something of her own to say, instead of just letting everyone else guide the conversation. Awin's daddy looked different than Lori's mom, and different than any of the other people she'd ever seen before. "Why's your daddy got a horse body?" she whispered the question.
Awin's father was indeed protective. Japi suppressed a laugh. She didn't want to offend, of course. When the girls were well out of earshot, she thought to start up a conversation. "So, you're a Mer Co parent too, then?" she asked with the delight of a woman who loved meeting new people. She and Lori were really complete opposites.
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