Closed Ocean's Kiss

[Ricky Maze]

Ocean's Kiss
Spring 67th 514 AV, 12th Bell
Location: The Docks

The rise of Syna had indeed met with her peak before the long descent into the heavy part of the day, the warmth of her rays strongly kissed the bay today which permitted fair cool weather considering the cold winds that kept the reaches of Mathew's Bay so chilly. For such a day like today Ricky found himself in the perfect opportunity to take his own son out to do the one thing he'd longed to do, and that was see if the boy would love to feel the way water felt when he was in the ocean. Of course the child still had much to learn and his grasp of everything was small, but the fisherman couldn't help but bear in mind the possible thought that his own son would bolster a rare reaction upon the feeling. After all nothing felt as great as the sea, when one first hand experienced how it felt on the skin. Thus even though his beloved hadn't the time to come along, as she needed to clean their rooms proper and go out to buy what they were to have for supper, Ricky still weaved his way with ease throughout the flood of the crowd.

Zeltiva was on an edge but even so the bustle never ceased to end it seems, the tension in the air was all but unnoticed when the average adult paid attention to their surroundings, the very proximity of the city breathed worry and concern for the troublesome lot that escaped the reaches of the asylum earlier this season. Of course Ricky had his fair share of magic users and the troubles they brought, but all in all the bigger picture to look at was the idea that their city was still safe... to an extent. Still! He could look to the brighter things in life like today, today was the day he would see his son fall in love with the ocean! What else could he expect, other than the fact Martin would likely throw a fit or something... Well that wasn't likely. Hopefully. Okay maybe he was too optimistic about it, but he couldn't help but think about how such a great day like this could turn out.

Thus the fisherman moved onward with not but his old worn vest on and spare pair of beige colored shorts tucked within the dresser in their room, and of course took his old travel sack to carry any essentials for the child in his arms. This included bread, a sealed glass bottle of milk, Martin's favorite blanket, and then of course Martin's spare clothing to put on after his experience with getting wet was over. Ricky didn't really care much for his own clothes, seeing as how he didn't have to worry about freezing. Yes he indeed knew well that children weren't capable of holding body heat as strongly as an adult, thus took it to heart to make this trip a boldly cautious one as he eagerly awaited to see what would unfold.

Martin himself was wrapped in the small white toga to comfortably allow the child's skin to breathe, bright blue eyes curious to peer around as he was carried past wave after wave of a person. Such an adorable child he was, a blessing Ricky couldn't have ever hoped to have. To be a father alone was something Ricky always found himself wanting, yet living the reality of it made everyday almost surreal as though it were a dream. Then again... each time he looked down into those eyes, those gorgeous eyes that belonged to the mother, he knew that this was real... and that this was the place he belonged in. Being a father no doubt completed Ricky, made him a whole individual devoted to the only thing that made his world breathe life. It was rather easy to see Ricky seeing as how he stood taller than most, especially with the small child securely snug within his arms.

Finally he arrived at the shoreline next to the docks with a wide grin on his face, the excitement hardly containable now that the water's edge appeared in sight. First he had to make sure everything was prepared, which meant setting up a place to relax and enjoy the weather. Once that was done Ricky could then see how his own son handled feeling water, and in turn the ocean as the gentle waves would wash upon onto the shore and kiss his very skin.

[Lani Stranger]

Boredom ...

The thought seemed to resonate through Lani's mind. Boredom was a dangerous parasite to settle into Lani's sanity. Lack of stimulation always lead to one mess or another for her. Snooping somewhere she shouldn't, experimenting with something she shouldn't, picking fights in general ... For someone as unprepared for an sort of physical confrontation as Lani, she shouldn't aggravate others as much as she should ...

Was boredom an emotion? Could you feel bored? Or are you just simply ... bored. You can't feel boredom. What are you thinking? Lani chided herself. A rough boot scrapped the back of her heel and her head shot up, glaring at the woman behind her. The docks were rather busy, people bustling about, enjoying the sun. That's what she was doing. Well, not exactly. Lani had just walked out of the University, and just kept walking. It was interesting how easily she found an adventure doing this. Adventure was always worth Lani's time. She dragged her eyes from her shoes, thinking she would have to look up and take in the world around her. Otherwise she would loose herself in her mind and walk straight into the ocean. And drown. Lani was reminded of the fact that her entire life was spent on land, small glimpses of the ocean at best. Her black eyes glided over the heads of the crowd, magnetizing towards the ocean. It lay, gently swaying on the sunny day, it looked fun and inviting. But to Lani , it looked like a death trap, and undiscovered domain that she knew nothing about. Something that she had seen others conquer. The thougth of going anywhere near the Ocean was utterly horrifying to the desert blooded girl.

However intimidated she was by the thing, her bare feet took another direction. It wasn't hard to go where she wanted in the crowd, people were mostly fluid, like air across her skin. Her the cobble below her feet became sandier and soon it was no longer cobble, but wood. The crowds had cleared and the sun was warming her bare arms. She turned back, looking at the city, arms slack at her sides. To a passerby, she could look lost. Which was somewhat true. She knew where she was, but she didn't know why she was there. Slowly, she turned her head back to the ocean that was suddenly closer. One step and she was in sand. She sunk her toes into the powdery hot substance and a grin spread across her face. Bending so that she could roll her pant legs up, Lani ran through the sand. The waterline didn't seem to be very far, and Lani curved, coming to a sudden stop once her feet hit the more compacted sand. She watched the wave come in, ending a few inches from her toes before pulling back in. She was about to step forward once more, test out the temperature, to hear a child start screaming in joy.

Lani's head whipped around, watching a pair who had just walked onto the beach. A man, who seemed oddly familiar, was holding a rather small boy. A few steps away from the two, seagulls that exploded into the air, which had been the source of the shrill happiness. No expression crossed her face as she briefly wondered if the boy had some mental deficiency. They were birds. Swiveling her hips so that most of her torso faced the beach, she watched the boy and his father, a faint recognition keeping her attention. Her eyes glided over the man, but stopped when she caught his brown hair and familiar height. Lani squinted further at the man, who was laying things out on the beach. Couldn't be ... She placed a hand on her hip, flitting her eyes between the small boy and his father. "Ricky!" Lani's voice bubbled against her thoughts. It could be rather embarrassing if it wasn't the man from the other night. Her heels dug into the compacted sand as she turned, heading in his direction. As he turned to grab something else, she confirmed her thoughts. It was defiantly that drunk Wave Guard guy.

"Ricky! Ricky, hey." She lowered her voice as she got closer. She slid a horizontal hand under her bangs, lifting the hair form her forehead and shielding the sun from her colorless eyes. It didn't occur to her that the man might not recognize her, or that he was there to be with his son and might not want to be bothered by some strange girl he ran into once. Then again, awkward wasn't a word in Lani's vocabulary. Ricky had been hopelessly drunk, and with all the events that happened a few nights ago he might not have paid much attention to her. Her hand dropped, her eyes had adjusted to the blinding sun rather quickly. "Fancy meeting you here. The other night was ... fun, to say the least. Is that your kid? He's, uh, nice." A hand leisurely pointed towards the boy. One eyebrow sunk as she struggled to find a word for the kid, who had quieted with the strange woman's sudden intrusion. Teh small blue eyes were focused on hers, something that made her feel odd as she looked down on the kid. Didn't he know not to stare? At the last moment, she tried to compliment him, not wanting to come off as indifferent towards the boy, even though she was. Infants weren't particularly common in Lani's life, and R'yse had taught her that they are vile creatures, disgusting screamers. Personally, Lani thought they were somewhat cute, but was still wary of the pocket human. He could start spewing puke any moment. Or peeing everywhere. Did kids his size do that? When did a baby become a kid? Where they potty-trained like dogs? Lani found herself distracted by the kid, but turned her attention back to Ricky quickly after she finished speaking.

PC/NPC Talking -- Common -- Kontinese -- Thoughts

[Ricky Maze]

Yes! Martin was just as excited to be out as the movement of sea gulls and the sounds of the city and ocean merged as one, the child was eagerly bouncing in his father's arms as he looked around curiously to see the environment all around. The biggest thing that made him wonder was the ocean itself, as his pale blue eyes mainly wandered across the broad horizon where both colors of water and sky merged into one. Such a beautiful sight it was, and even so Ricky himself could only wonder just what went through the mind of his child as he sat on the sand. How precious it was for his son to actually be able to feel that very gritty substance as the child held it in his own hands for a chime, only to be kept from eating it by his father as Ricky chuckled and told him no in the process.

Sure enough Ricky had set up the small area where Martin could lay on his blanket and in turn play after his adventure in the water, and in the event the baby grew hungry there was the bag next to the blanket for the purpose of carrying the food brought along. Now Oi just gotta see 'ow he likes de water, den from t'ere keep 'im occupied till he's wore out. Ricky mused with a wide grin adorned on his face, the expression one of serene completion as he lived in the moment being a father. Of course somebody recognized him, somebody who took to approach him and greet him in a friendly manner. He went ahead and scooped his son up within his left arm carefully, and held the boy in a gentle snug as he looked to see who it was that called out his name.

When he faced her he remembered the face from somewhere before but no name came to mind, likely because it was in the event of a dark place with others... and then there was also an insane lunatic to worry about in the heat of the moment. Nevertheless he recognized her even if it were a bit of a haze, the dark eyes something he still had yet to be acquainted with in seeing in an individual. "Well, ain't dis a pleasant surprise. Good t' see ya still kickin' roun' even after de ot'er night, Oi can only say dat was only one t'ing bad in comparison t' de good Zeltiva 'as t' offer." He greeted heartily as she finally seemed to draw closer, enough to where she could likely see the tattoos on Ricky's shoulders even. They weren't anything worthy to note unless one tended to appreciate that kind of thing, but in general one served as a reminder of Ricky's own love to his beloved wife. The tattoo of a lady submerged at the ocean's floor on his left, a basic depiction of the woman from the story of the Black Lady. A story in itself represented true love until the end.

"Yea de ot'er nigh was... well eventful t' say de least." He mused with a soft chuckle, a glance down to his son as Lani seemed to take an interest in him. "Yea dis be me boy Martin, he be a hundred and sixty-six days ol' t'day." He remarked with a hearty grin as he remembered the count he was at, it wouldn't be long before he would reach the mark of a year's worth and in turn start back to day one to count once again. He took note of the change in Lani's expression as she seemed at a loss, or rather unsure of what to say in regards to Martin himself or to Ricky in general. Of course Ricky could only assume it was due to Martin, seeing as how the boy was always interested in all things new. Therefore he chuckled inwardly and found himself compelled to lighten the moment some, and hopefully lift any pressure that might've fell onto the girl's mind.

"He's curious 'bout ya is all, always curious when it comes t' de world. He's a good boy all de same, 'ard t' not like 'im when ye hang roun' 'im long enough." He mused with another chuckle as he dipped his free hand inside his pocket, only to notice that something wasn't quite right when he did. He'd brought with him a small amount of nilo, only enough to be considered a pocket's change worth really. Now it appears a portion of that amount had been taken. Damn! He cursed under his breath, already quick to deduct that it happened while on the way here, when he weaved his way through the crowd. What kind of criminal steals pocket change from a man who was with his son?! The cruel type apparently... still it was better to let bygones be bygones, and in this case fussing over a few lost nilo wasn't worth the effort anyway.

"So anyway, 'ow 're ya likin' Zeltiva?" He asked as he turned to face the blanket once more, he went ahead and knelt down to his knees to carefully place Martin down on his back so the child could lay down while he would undo the knot on the toga. While Lani would speak he would take his time to remove it and make faces to his child to keep the boy amused, while at the same time listen to the words the girl would say to keep the conversation flowing.

[Gwin]

.





OOCI hope you don't mind me joining. And Ricky, I have to say the shade of blue you use for speech is hard to read on my screen...

Gwin took the classes she’d registered for at the University of Zeltiva seriously, but that didn’t mean she forgot her origins or where she belonged. Every few days, depending on her work load, she left the dorm and returned to the ocean. The food from the kitchens was foreign at best. Although she’d tried it a few times, nothing they offered tasted as good as kelp fresh out of the water.

After chasing and eating her meal with the laziness of an experienced hunter, the Akvatari found her way back towards the shore. Her furry tail, green as spring grass, propelled her through the water at good speed. Once she hit the beach near the docks, Gwin took to the sky. As soon as her head and shoulders broke the surface, brilliant turquoise wings patterned like a butterfly’s started beating and lifting her into the air. They only carried her a short distance though before she landed and simply lied down in the warm sand to relax after the excitement.

With a small sigh, the Akvatari stretched on her belly, rested her head on folded arms and absentmindedly curled her tail with the translucent fins towards her hip. Her body, the lower part akin to a seal’s and the upper humanoid, was uncovered save for a black strip of fabric across her chest. As a gentle breeze from the ocean dried her blond locks and pale skin, Gwin turned her head to the side.

Vibrant blue eyes were staring back at her with a questioning expression. It took her a moment to realize that a child was looking at her, a baby held by a tall human. He was conversing with a tanned and black-haired girl whose eyes looked somewhat disturbing. Looking back to the child, Gwin raised her eyebrows, pursed her lips and puffed up her cheeks. Part of her was curious about a baby of different race, part of her simply wanted to see how the little one would react.

[Lani Stranger]

Before Ricky responded to her, Lani found herself accompanied by another creature, one she hadn't quite seen before ... ever. It intrigued Lani, and her attention was quickly diverted. The ease with which the woman beside her had flown through the air was impossible to Lani. Flight was reserved for the birds in Lani's mind. The delicate looking wings that aligned her back, fashioned like a butterflies were glistening in the sun. Small droplets of water gently sliding down the ridges caught Lani's eye as she slowly put two and two together. She came out of the ocean? No ... But it was hard to deny the leathery tail, lined with a very thin coat of fur that replaced the woman's legs. A grin grew across Lani's face as she took in the woman who had silently rested beside them. It wasn't until the girl made a face at the baby that Lani had just been staring at that Lani's attention was split open again to include Ricky and his child.

"Well hello there!" Lani spoke up, a cheery note in her voice. The excitement of this new woman was showing through, as Lani dropped to her knees, squatting so that she could hold out her hand to better meet the woman. "My name is Lani. This here is Ricky and ... his kid." A horrifying thought occurred to Lani as she took the intiative to introduce the two beside her. She could have just let it open for the man to introduce himself and not embarrass herself, but she spoke before she thought it over. The excitement to talk to the flying sea-creature next to her had taken control of her words ... what was the upchucker's name? Oh Gods. I can't remember to pooper's name! Lani's grin faded a bit, her black eyes had adjusted to the intense sun as she looked back up at Ricky. Lani took on a very matter-of-fact tone, turning her head back to the woman beside her. Rusty blonde bangs were blown out of her face as Lani's cheeks lit up."Well, it's nice to meet you."

PC/NPC Talking -- Common -- Kontinese -- Thoughts

[Ricky Maze]

oocSorry for the wait as I intended to get to this days ago, and of course the color in dialogue has been changed so you should find it easier to read hopefully. If not then try adjusting the brightness of your screen, or just let me know as I've another template I can use anyway. And of course the whole situation with Ricky in the beginning is more or less personal on his part, so Gwin take no offense to the fact you made things a bit exciting for us.

Of course something else exciting would happen when he would try to make a normal conversation occur, it was always his luck that led him to find something else would come along to make a meeting such as this a little bit more exciting. Out of the blue, quite literally in fact, a creature surfaced and flew into the sky with large wings... large butterfly wings to be exact. Of course this creature had the upper body of a human, and yet the lower half... was a seal? What the petch was this thing? It looked to be a woman mainly but that's not all, the creature found itself a place to rest on shore not too far from where both Ricky and Lani stood. The fisherman was quick to pick up the child as he stood, as both father and child had curious eyes deadlocked onto the female creature. Yet the father held more than just a curiosity in his eyes, unlike the boy he held within his arms so dearly. Why? Just why? Can Oi not 'ave a normal day wit' me own boy? He questioned the heavens as though one of the Divines had a sense of humor, he could never seem to catch a break from an eventful day no matter how hard he tried.

Lani was suddenly cheery to the creature though as she introduced herself and Ricky, although by the sound of it she'd already forgotten his child's name as she couldn't say it in turn. It made him chuckle a bit as he held a friendly but withdrawn smile, the excitement already clear in the enthusiasm the girl held with the fascinating creature that rested before them. He had to admit he too found her interesting, although he more or less thought to try and see his son enjoy the feel of water only moments ago. How odd for things to unfold like this, you bring your son out to the beach and then, in turn, you find yourself meeting a creature you've never seen before in your life. "Aye, name's Ricky. Dis be me son Martin." He picked up where Lani left off as as his scrunched eyes loosened up some, now that they were better adjusted to the angle of light in his eyes from Syna herself. Of course the welcome wagon was to be rolled out, only this time it wasn't a Charoda from the depths he'd just met.

Oh how those days would be cherished, even when they only happened a year ago, it felt like ages had passed since he lived in that time. Likely because he was a father now, and also because he was much different compared to then. Everybody changes though, that's the effect time held on everything. At best he could make this moment another memory he would look back upon fondly, and know that he would in turn think the same about this later on just as he did now. "Oi take it yer relatively new t' Zeltiva as Oi ain't see ya roun' any, so Oi welcome yew lass t' our wonderful city." He humbly stated with a hearty grin as he approached the creature in turn, though he didn't get as close as Lani did seeing as how she was more curious and excited.
"If ye don't mind me askin, what are ya exactly? Oi've never seen someone like yew before." He admitted as he chose his words respectively, the creature after all wasn't some animal or monster to think or speak poorly of.

Martin would in turn stare wide eyed at woman curiously with but several occasional glances up to his father, no doubt in wonder at how the fisherman was able to speak with such a foreign yet exotic wonder of the world.

[Ariann]

OOC: Speak of the Devil and She Shall Appear!D'aww! I can't pass up a chance to crash this thread after seeing the linky to Ariann's and Ricky's first meeting!

Syna's warmth had thuroughly illuminated the waters into a deep blue hue, one that was fading quickly into a solid turquois color that showed nothing that wasn't a foot or less under the water. But like a one-way window, the waves did not stop all of the surface's activities from being shown to the charodan woman as she swam swiftly by. Her legs flitted behind her, her torso contorting back and forth so that her entire form flew through the water at a swift pace. She was an expert at swimming, not so much at flying.

The surface of a wave broke upon her head as she leaped out of the water, managing to get her torso out of the lightened water before gravity took hold and dragged her back towards the depths of Laviku's domain. It was a short glimpse, but Ariann's distinct green eyes flitted with curiosity as she looked upon the women and the singular man who had a rather unfamiliar toddler dashing about. She hadn't met the child, but she would have recognized the man right off the bat. Not many of the handsome sailors had such distinct tattoos that declared such a fervent love for one's loved one.

As the waves sucked her back down, she was little more than a blue blot beneath the waves, one that was speckled white and green in places. That blot would be seen moving away from the coast before turning around. And then, as a flip of the dime, it was gone, sunk beneath the water's depths with little more than a few bubbles and a splash of her webbed feet. The charoda made her way towards the shore, along the sandy bottom to watch things happen, listening to their words beneath the waves. If there was a perk of being an amphibian, it was the ability to lurk underwater and listen to people. Oooooh, juicy rumors!

[Gwin]

.





While she still grimaced at the child, the woman noticed Gwin and came over with a cheerful introduction on her lips. Up close, her eyes were completely black, no whites, no irises. Gwin twisted herself into a sitting position and shook her hand, although the question of how a bipedal got such eyes was still rolling around in her mind. “I’m Gwin. Nice to meet you.”

The woman gestured back to the man and the child, introducing only one of them by name. However, the other was given shortly after and the connection between the two made clear. Looking over Lani’s shoulder, Gwin gave a polite nod. “It’s nice to meet you two as well. I hope I haven’t disturbed your conversation.” She had no way of knowing if they’d met up on purpose or just bumped into each other. Lani simply approaching and shaking hands had quite surprised her, so she was at a loss as to what to do or say next.

Fortunately, Ricky spoke up and broke that awkward silence before it had really formed. The corners of Gwin’s mouth curled a little as she thought of Zeltiva and her experiences with it. “It’s a beautiful city, especially how it’s built on land, yet connected with the sea. I don’t mind you asking, you’re certainly not the only one, although one of the more polite. We’re called Akvatari. Our home, so to say, is the city of Abura on an island off the coast of Eyktol.” Just like the little human, Gwin found her glance returning to that oddity she’d gotten a better glance at before. Despite her curiosity, the right kinds of questions just didn’t come to her, so she refrained from asking about Martin for now.

Instead her gaze flitted out over the ocean, momentarily filled with vague longing, but finding refuge in its vast masses. “I take it you two are residents? What do you do?” Something she’d learned was that few people in Zeltiva were actually sailors or scholars. Although those were its major attractions, there were also woodcarvers, toymakers, waiters and many other kinds of people. Learning of all the colors, not just the most prominent, was significant to the Akvatari mind.

[Lani Stranger]

Ricky was far better at holding a simple conversation than Lani. She was simply interestedin what concoction I creatures had built the woman who stood-- or sat before her. It occurred to Lani that it was entirely too rude. She knew what the stares felt like, how some of the questions about what race you belonged to could make you want to shake the child that asked them until they shutup. Maybe Lani just felt that way around humans because she couldn't answer their questions, but Lani took a moment to look at Gwin as a person instead of a new race.

As Gwin answered the question that they both wanted to know, Lani followed her gaze to the ocean, wind blowing her bangs over her face, they had been growing too long. But her gaze lingered, she was in a whole knew territory today. She had wandered towards the ocean, a force that could wipe her off the face of this planet in an instant, and met a new race-- no, a new person. Lani dragged her eyes away from the terrifying blue to look back at the akvatari, willing to answer her question. "I'm a University student." Lani said simply, eyes darting between the two adults and the infant, uncertain of how to properly carry a conversation with a stranger. As she listened to Ricky's reply, Lani gave one last look at the lapping waves of the bay. A flicker of something showed itself over the glistening fluid, and Lani turned her head completely, squinting to get a better look. What it a whale? No, whales were far larger ... A shark or a dolphin? Lani want entirely sure, she had very limited knowledge on marine life.

Choosing not to ignore it, Lani turned back to the conversationalist, his son and the curious woman. "Looks like the dolphins are jumping about in the bay, today." Lani cocked a thumb towards the ocean behind her, in her attempt to try her hand at making conversation.

NaJu Word Count: 335

PC/NPC Talking -- Common -- Kontinese -- Thoughts

[Ricky Maze]

OOCSorry this took so long to get to, now that things are falling into place again we should be able to resume the fun.

With they way Gwin shared details about her origins and heritage Ricky found himself alight with curiosity as he took in the information, Akvatari or so she called her self anyway and she was from the place called Abura. It was so interesting to hear of foreign places Ricky had never been to or even knew existed, yet even so the ideas of traveling he once held as a young boy were far beyond over now that he was anchored in Zeltiva.
"Sounds like it be a curious place t' visit at least, Oi'm glad yew 'appen t' be enjoyin' yer stay 'ere in Zeltiva." He added with a friendly smirk to the compliment as he enjoyed to hear her say the city was beautiful, indeed Zeltiva was by far a unique place for the fisherman to call home mainly because it was so connected to the sea. In truth were he to try and think of calling anywhere else home, no such name of another place could roll into his mind as no other city he visited felt the same as Zeltiva did.

With the question that Gwin asked them Lani was the one to answer first, as Ricky didn't wish to rambunctiously answer and in turn cut her out of the conversation, and in turn he responded with a easy and simple answer all on his own. He hadn't quite learned a lot about Lani but the fact she was there to help with Pulren the other night, that was enough to lead the man to hold good thoughts on her part. "Oi'm a Wave Guard, we're de city watch fer Zeltiva. Might've seen some o' us roun', blue uniforms an' all." He mused with a light chuckle, his eyes shot a quick glance down to his left hand as he remembered the sudden moment where he lost that one digit. The last finger on his hand which was cleanly severed off, the little space that once felt like a pinky no longer a part of his body. How odd it felt to lose such things, it was no doubt similar to how Gale felt seeing as how he had only few fingers left on one hand.

With the comment that the dolphins were splashing about the bay today Ricky's eyes shifted from the hand to Lani, which in turn followed the nod towards the bay as the ocean seemed to be the same as ever. It was possible that dolphins were roaming about the bay but not usually this close, of course Ricky didn't really pay mind to dwell on the matter as he remembered what it was he originally came here for. "Yea sometimes t'ey flop bout de surface, doesn't 'appen often t'ough so de sight o' em is somet'in good t' watch." He looked down to the child he held in his arms, the young baby Martin a precious sight to gaze upon for the father, as he would always be reminded of the eyes that belonged to the mother. Yes even if Martin had strong resemblances to Ricky there were a slight few variations of his mother in him, yet the most beautiful feature that reminded Ricky of her was Martin's eyes. The child was a bit to busy watching both Lani and Gwin at first, but when he finally looked to his dad he smiled at the amount of attention he received from his dad. "Also good t' feel de waves when t'ey wash up on shore, Oi me self was gonna see how Martin handles feelin' de water fer de first time."

He pointed it out as an open invitation for the two women to join along, that is if they wanted to feel the way the waters felt when they rushed upon shore. For Ricky he needn't tread too far to begin with really, he only needed to be ankle deep before he would kneel down on both knees and hold his son snugly with both arms. This was it. The moment that he'd waited for, even if it had been delayed with the presence of new found company, he was at last going to see how Martin handled the water. He was easy with it at first, careful to watch the child as he lowered the baby down. He was prone to watch the boy's eyes as the were solely focused on the water, and then in turn the father couldn't help but smile widely as he watched the change in Martin's eyes upon the reaction. First the feet were to go in and when that happened the child's eyes widened, it was as if Martin hadn't any idea what to expect in the first place. Then again he really didn't of course, seeing as how this was his first time. Yet even so he seemed to handle it well, thus Ricky finally lowered the boy down to where he was sitting in the water, as it would rise to cover the area of his belly each time the waves lapped over the shore.

Ricky couldn't help but laugh then as the child waved his arms about before him, only to reach down between his legs and grapple a clump of wet sand. "Look at yew! Playin in de water an' sa- Ah ah!" He stopped Martin from eating a mouthful of the sand with his fingers, a chuckle to follow as he made sure to clean the child's hands off using the water.