He had to get away. Away from the compound, from everyone he knew, just for a little while. Well, everyone but his daughter, Dela. He had promised her that they'd go exploring a new place, and he intended to keep it. Besides that, he always enjoyed being with her, even when he was in a foul mood. She gave him happiness no matter what was going on, she was his little girl.
"Look at that, Dela." Imnir managed a small smile as they went, "The ocean. It's so big and blue." He wasn't the greatest at describing things, but that seemed adequate. He had never seen the ocean before either, but he had heard about it and knew one when he saw it.
"Oooooo!" Dela bounded ahead as the ocean came into view, her tail wagging madly and her eyes sparkling with excitement. "It's so pretty! Let's get closer!" Without waiting for the ok from Imnir, she made a run for it, her little legs carrying her surprisingly fast.
Imnir couldn't help but laugh as he followed his daughter, speeding up a bit to make sure he could stay close. He loved watching her light up when things like this happened, when she experienced new things.
He loved how much she enjoyed everything he did for her. "Would you like to go in the water, Dela?" He called to her as they approached the beach, pawing at the sand curiously for a moment. It wasn't like anything he had ever walked on, it shifted and yet was solid enough to support his weight. How strange.
"Wow, this is so weird!" Dela rolled around in the sand and then hopped to her feet, shaking most of it off her fur and then beginning to dig. "Daddy, it just keeps going!" She gasped, "And- hey!" She glared at her little hole as it began to fill in with the surrounding sand, "Oh well. Let's play in the water!"
Wait, what was that thing over there? "Daddy, what's that?" She ran up to the edge of the water and waded in a bit, staring at the odd looking creature floating lazily in the deeper parts of the ocean. It wasn't terribly far away, but the water was already getting too deep for her to want to go in that far. "It looks like, like... I don't know what it is." She frowned and squinted to try to see better, but she had never seen or heard of anything like this.
"HEY!" She called, "Hey you, come here!"
Imnir perked up his ears and looked up to see the long necked creature swimming closer to them, apparently what Dela was curious about. "I don't really know what that is." Imnir admitted, "It might be a rapoka, but I've never seen one before." He knew that rapoka had long necks and lived in the ocean, but that was about it. He had never seen one before, but he was fairly certain they weren't dangerous, at least not usually.
"Little one." The rapoka spoke to Dela as she approached, "Not as little one." She nodded to Imnir. "You called?" She looked at Dela again, now only a few meters away. Her body remained in water deep enough to keep herself mostly submerged, but her head was close enough that she could speak normally and still be heard, thanks to her long neck.
"WOW!" Dela gasped and began splashing excitedly as she danced in place, "You're so big! Do you live out there? Daddy, look, it's so cool!" Her tail wagged back and forth, spraying Imnir lightly with bits of water as he watched from a few feet behind. "My name is Dela, and this is my daddy, Imnir!" She motioned back to her father, "Who are you?"
"My name is Razilu." She chuckled softly, "Imnir and Dela. I like those." She gave Imnir a smile, "You look unhappy. Are you alright?"
"Oh yes, I'm fine." Imnir blinked, "I've just never seen a rapoka up close before." He wasn't entirely sure how comfortable he was with his daughter being so close to such a large beast, even if she did seem gentle and kind. This was a bit outside his comfort zone. "Tell me, Razilu, do you live around here?"
"Of course she lives around here, silly!" Dela laughed and splashed him, causing her father to flinch just a little from the sudden cold spray. "Wow, you're so amazing! Out in the big ocean, I'll bet you can go where ever you want out there! What is it like?"
"Rapoka?" Razilu thought about it for a moment, "I have heard that before. That is what you call my kind." She nodded, seeming proud of her ability to remember that. "I live in a cave over there." She motioned with her head off to the east, "It is not far, but it is under the water." She tilted her head at Dela. She had never thought about what the land-dwellers must think of her home, or that they could not go there. She was suddenly curious about what the inner parts of the island she couldn't see were like.
"I could show you." She offered, "You should not go under, but I can carry you above." She turned so that they could see her broad back, large enough that Imnir would be able to sit there along with Dela, though only because she was still so small. Two full-grown mokai would probably not fit comfortably. "But not now, I can not stay." She looked rather sad for a moment, "Will you visit again, friends?" She asked, looking hopeful. "It can be lonely in the sea."
"Ooooh, can we please, daddy?" Dela pleaded, "I want to ride on her back and see what it's like out there!" She sloshed over to him and gave her best puppy-dog look, "Please please please?"
Now this he wasn't a fan of. "Maybe some time, Dela." The idea that she might fall into the ocean was terrifying, and they barely knew this rapoka. "Listen, you are not allowed to go out there without me with you, understood?"
He wasn't about to take any chances on this. He'd have to come back soon and have his own conversation with Razilu, and then maybe they could both go out into the waves, but it wouldn't be until after that he would consider letting Dela do it alone. He had to know that Razilu would keep her safe before he would even think of it.
"Don't let us keep you, Razilu." He nodded to her, "If you have to go, then go. We will come visit you."
"Awwww, ok..." Dela huffed, but she wasn't one to disobey her father when he sounded so serious. "Bye Razilu! We'll see you again!"
"Good bye, friends." She gave a soft smile and turned herself around, slowly swimming back out to sea. One day she would hopefully become good friends with them, and not be so lonely all the time. She hoped that they wouldn't take too long to come back. Maybe they could even teach her to speak their language better. She knew enough to communicate alright, but she was slow to speak and had a hard time pronouncing their words from lack of practice. She hadn't spoken to a mokai in quite some time.
But for now, there were other things to attend to.
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