A ritual the leader had spoke of and what lead them to this point right now. He eyed his mate cautiously and watched as she bit her lip. Swimming was one thing but being under the water had never been her thing. She did afterall come from a place of earth and sand. He nuzzled Star, "It will be fine. I will go first and then you can go." He smiled with encouragement. The tide was perfect for ceremony, it would appear they had come at the right time. "Here we go," He mumbled more to himself than Star. He moved gracefully towards the water and nearly purred at the feel of water lapping against his fur. He knew many felines that had a huge dislike for getting their body wet.
He kept a steady pace away from land and with a last look behind to see Stars worried expression before taking a deep breath to dive down. It was magical down here. Little creatures floated up to him curiously and there were things that glowed. His mane flowed around him as he allowed the water to move his body. He had been blessed with great lung capacity, so the time he spent didn't seem long at all. Lost in calm a scrape of ground jolted him to reality. Land.
He looked up to the sparkling of the sunshine that shone down into the water. Magical. Sadly his lungs were beginning to hurt and needed air badly. As if the water knew it pushed him along gently towards the shore. He had made it. "Wow!" He gasped out breathless to his mate as soon as he saw her and grinned. "What a rush!"
She let out a sigh as soon as his white mane broke the surface. "About time," She mumbled knowing he couldn't hear and relaxed. "You certainly were down there a long time." She spoke as soon as he was close enough to hear. "I was beginning to worr-eep!" She flinched as he laughingly shook his body trying to dispel the droplets on her. "Thanks for that." She batted him with her paw before stepping up to the waters edge. "My turn." Lan'tis came up next to her and kissed her cheek.
Cushla had come out of her home earlier to have a look around. She knew she would have to perform the ritual like everyone else at one point. It was required to do so in order to live in Bahari. Before she knew it her paws took her to the water's edge. Oh. She was not alone. Upon closer inspection she noted one lioness coming out of the water and a male lion that dragged her to his body. Mates? Friends? They certainly were a comingly pair.