♥ Afternoon Thoughts ♥
Treasure hunting was one of Naia’s most favored past times.
As a youngling she couldn’t venture too far away from home but it didn’t stop her from finding little trinkets around the house to hide. The game was even more enticing when she managed to get gifts from her brothers to hide away in the brilliant coral reefs surrounding her family’s home. One would think that it would be all too easy save for the fact that Naia would sometimes hide things and wait moons before going to find them. She would even take the time to create maps to draft out traps and other little tricks to hide her prizes in the wild sea behind her home. With the right materials a simple passage of coral could easily become a booby trapped labyrinth if she was left alone to her own devices for long enough.
Why would she go through so much trouble if she could remember where she had hid the items? How did you even manage to hide this here? How long did it even take you to make this trap? Naia would only grin as her family members questioned her playful habits. Was it to torment them or because she wanted to horde things for herself? No, she wouldn’t be so cruel to anyone on purpose and would never hide anything truly essential from her family. If they did ask her ever so nicely she would direct them in the general area where the hidden item rested.
After all, the point was not to hide the items from herself but to make a puzzle for others to discover. She truly believed that map making was practice to help her to learn how to become a better adventurer. The girl hummed happily to herself as she slipped between large tendrils of emerald and aquamarine seaweed which swayed lightly in the undersea current. One day she would go out and explore with some strange map for some glorious treasure.
For now it was an adventure enough to slip away from her brothers when they went out and about. It worried her gramma so much when Naia slipped away but the playful girl couldn’t help herself. She just enjoyed freedom and roaming about in the wild ocean far too much to simply behave and stay at home all the time. Right now she was playing around the fact that her brother had gotten distracted and given her a chance to slip away towards the ocean’s surface. How long until he finds me? For now she could just daydream and pretend that she was in some epic adventure. One of those with lots and lots of treasure and even booby traps!
The thought made her giggle lightly as she skirted around some imaginary traps before flipping backwards. Bubbles marked her escape as her feet kicked strongly towards a side current. As her lithe body got swept up towards the surface of the ocean waters the girl found her body embracing the warmth of the surface waters. While she loved the beauty and fun of the underwater world the girl couldn’t deny how loved the sunlight made her feel. It was like a lover’s kiss, a parent’s embrace, anything that made her skin tingle with warmth and gave a flush to her cheeks. It was no wonder so many of her race enjoyed climbing out of the waters to relax in the sunlight on the surface above.
Of course her gramma said that being out in the sunlight was far too dangerous if alone for too long but the girl didn’t heed such warnings. If anything her gramma would have her locked up in their home all day - talk about boring! It was hard enough to sneak away from the small area surrounding her family’s home. The place was so small and familiar that she could name every nook and cranny by now and would notice any new cracks or changes in the coral formations. How was that exciting? Watching coral grow would be as exhilarating as waiting for one of those slow snail creatures to cross the ocean floor. The coral would be even slower to boot! Naia crinkled her nose at the idea before she kicked her feet one last time.
The girl’s frown quickly turned into a wide grin as she broke through the surface of the waters and stared around at the world above. I wonder what treasures are out there? For some it seemed like the waters were endless. The sunlight was the only thing to show that the sea and skies were separated as the foam of the rolling waters shined with the golden rays of warmth. Yet she knew that beyond those endless tides of blue there was land. A strange place without much water where they could walk for miles. The thought made her shiver, both a mixture of fear and anticipation as she imagined what it must be like in such a place. Would the land be warm beneath her feet because of the sunlight? Would it give way like the sandy beaches did beneath her toes? Sometimes the beaches were even so hot that her toes felt like they were cooking! Naia had quickly learned to be careful exactly how she walked on the shores when she did get the rare chance to swim so far away from home. Those trips she needed her brothers for and unfortunately it was really rare when any of them would willingly take her that far away. Mostly cause gramma would maul them out of worry more than likely - a risk that Naia was willing to let her brothers take. I guess that’s not too nice for them. She mused with a slight pout before twisting back beneath the waters to peek around.
Still no sign of anyone from home. More time for her to play around here then! Giggling she darted off and started to play through the waters, darting in and out of the shimmering spots of sunlight reflecting beneath the surface, before she finally surfaced again. There was a wind in the air, the salty tendrils of her hair moving to slap her lightly in the face as the winds rose almost as in a warning that she should move back below into the safety of the ocean’s waters.
And now her anticipation could only grow as the river people came back to them. What stories would they have for her people after years of isolation? Her parents probably would come home with so many new gifts and stories! If anything their gatherings inspired Naia even more about wanting to adventure in the future. Their parents did trading and now that so many more areas were opening up the girl could only imagine how exciting her mother’s bedtime tales would become. A small smile crossed her features as she pondered the possibilities. Oooh what if they had a bunch of caves and other cool landmarks to check out? Did they ever go to the surface and did they have some new creatures that swam their waters? She bet that their families weren’t so restrictive like her grandmother was either. If only I had been born a boy like my brothers then they wouldn’t be so worried all the time. She would never understand why her gramma always treated her like a delicate seaflower while her brothers got away with doing so much more. It didn’t matter if she was the youngest either! She was tough too!
I’ll prove it one day, gramma. I’ll go on lots of adventures and bring back all the treasures for you to enjoy! She nodded firmly and imagined how her brothers would praise her while she came back with so many stories. Shoot! She’d even take a cool scar like what her papa had down along his back from some deep sea creature! Talk about impressive! Though gramma would say that’s not very lady-like at all. Another frown crossed her features before movement from behind caught her attention.
Aww. Of course her wonderings could only last so long. Naia sighed as another head broke through the surface and a fiery redhead boy called out at her, “Naia!!! You’ll have Gramma skinning me alive if you don’t come back now!”
Scoffing the girl shook her head, “Lame!” Yet she didn’t protest as she followed one of her brothers back to the deeper waters. There was no point in making more trouble now. She didn’t dislike her family after all and truly did love them. She just didn’t like feeling so smothered in the coral reefs by her grandmother’s protective spirit. As long as she lived there with her family in the coral reef her grandmother promised safety and it was here that she would be stuck for a few more years yet. Still that didn’t stop her from plotting for the future.
Eventually something would change and she would find her adventure.
[WC: 1510]
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