Stand By for an Apology

[Tanell]

14th Day of Summer, 515AV
Mystic Cove
Ninth bell

The Okomo departed, hopefully to only a short distance, perhaps to graze on what he might find off the coast. Tanell had little worry for that now, for she was blissfully alone, there was no music, no people to worry about. She was exuberant in her movement.

Syna's light glowed gently down from above, diffused by clouds, and at times lost completely, but Tanell knew she was there all the same. Laviku's waters crashed upon the shore, the salt spray calling to the woman as she slipped her shoes off her feet.

Breath a gentle sigh, she sunk into the cool sand, finding the cold dampness hidden beneath the sun heated grains.

"Father, I hear you." Her voice barely rose above the din of the beating of the sea against the shore, but he would hear her, she was sure. "From my home, as I walk the paths of the city there is nowhere too far to roam. I enjoy this more than anything here, the constant thrum in the distance that reminds me you are near. Today Syna ducks behind the clouds, her visage a silvered lining to the crowds. I came today seeking your loving embrace, for it is here with you I find my place. Father would you be so kind to share some words with sister mine. I wrote once more to Eleret, I wait and wait but hear nothing yet. So please tell her I am safe and warm, happy even when summer storms. Ask her how she fares too, remind her I hope she is safe and near to you." Her words tumbled past her lips, a simple happy prayer muddied by concern for her sibling. She dragged a foot through the sand, turning her eyes towards the deep blue of the horizon. "Whether near to one another or far apart, we all keep each other close to our heart. I hear you, Father. Hear me too."

Despite the sadness of her departure from her sisters, prayer always served as a welcome comfort. Further than her words, today she had hiked with an Okomo companion to the cove, and she planned to swim, an activity that brought joy to her no matter the day's events.

Her shoes already kicked off in the sand, she shifted to pull her blouse over her head, folding it neatly atop her boots. The rest of her clothing quickly followed, far back from the water's edge to prevent the tide from reaching them.

The cove was new to her, and across the mouth of the river were two cottages, but she steered clear of them, no need to bother people over something as simple as a jaunt in the ocean.

Without Syna's full light to warm her skin, she quickly grew chilled in the mild summer weather. Taking the chill as a sign, she crossed the sand to the water's edge, her feet leaving little webbed prints in the sand.

The water splashed at her ankles, a sense of warmth despite the cooler weather. A few more steps brought water to her knees, then further still until first her hips then her waist were submerged.

Deep enough now, she dove beneath the water, breathing deeply the water that tasted salt. She stretched her arms above her head, flaring her fingers to catch more water as she pulled herself forward. A kick of her foot spun her over onto her back, gazing up towards the surface just as Syna peeked out from behind the clouds to shine down on her father's domain.

Light filtered down on her through the shallow water, the scales that traversed her body catching the gentle light, as beautiful as any other creature of the sea.

Home; this was home.

[Atticus Leslie]

The clouds had drifted in front of the bright gleam of Syna, blocking her brilliant light from raining down upon the land. Of course, this was quite obviously subject to change, seeing as it was early morning. But for the moment, the clouds above dangled weightlessly in the sky, set aglow with a gentle golden hue towards the direction of Syna’s light.

Atticus had been up for a while now, seeing as he had been having some issue with sleep, and he wasn’t sure why. In any case, he figured moving and exploring was better than meandering about the apartment. After a bit of thought, he decided to head down to the shore and explore the bit of space he hadn’t much explored before. Of course, he knew it was a bit of a march, but he had time on his hands and legs on his hips and no where to be.

The long journey wasn’t much to handle, aside from the time issue that is. Atticus was experienced in walking up and down hills from living in the city of Lhavit, which had no shortage of mountains at all. He knew how to handle himself. He knew how to step down the enormous hill leading down to the ocean at an angle, as so that his weight would be easier to control and he would end up falling miles upon miles downward. The only thing he had to worry about was the time, which wasn’t even much of a worry. Atticus had so much of it on his hands he didn’t know what to do do with it most of the time.

The walk, apparently, took much less time as he had expected, reaching the bottom of the climb in only about a bell and a half overall, which was nice. The hike was dull, but that was to be expected, and Atticus got to stretch his legs a bit.

The salty winds by the ocean were so much thicker than above, in the city. The breeze tickled your nostrils and beckoned you further, even stung your eyes a bit, but Atticus liked it. For some odd reason, it felt familiar to him, it felt like an old friend. But the docks were hardly exciting enough for the Leslie child, as he wasn’t much intrigued with business. So he pressed on.

He travelled along the Amaranthine River for about ten chimes or two before reaching something… New. His shoe dipped gently into sand, and he could feel the ground shift immediately, able to tell the difference between the hard dirt and foliage, and the soft sand of this cove. Curious, Atticus stepped forward, pushing past brush, soon to behold a beautiful sight. The waves of the ocean lapped gently upon a calm shore, and the rays of Syna, even behind the clouds, seemed to favor the waves. Atticus sight, content with his surroundings.

He took a couple steps forward before sitting down and removing his shoes, placing them in the sand, careful to place the open-side up. Sand-filled shoes would not be fun for the journey home. He stood, and reached down to roll up his pant legs to his knees.

He stood there for a moment, taking in the sight, absorbing all he could from the moment he saw it in. He placed his hands upon his hips, as if he were proud of his discovery, and something caught his eye. Something laying on the beach. Curiosity piqued, he approached it.

It was obvious before he reached it that it was cloth. Upon the realization, Atticus hurried a bit quicker towards it, only to discover that it was, indeed, clothes, neatly folded upon the sand, quite obviously belonging to someone of the female gender.

Atticus felt the blood rush from his cheeks, and did his best not to observe the water too closely, as that is where he suspected the - presumably exposed - lass to be. He blushed at the thought of who else was present, and decided it was probably not the best idea to linger in that particular area.

The boy carefully stepped around the garments, doing his best not to dirty them with sand, and began walking down the beach, carrying the strangest feeling of worthlessness, of dirtiness, simply for being in that area, and considering who else may be there.

Not too long after he set off, he stumbled into the water, stepping on something sharp. He grunted as he felt whatever it was - most likely a stone - penetrate the skin of his foot and the water soon became somewhat reddish around the area where he stepped on a rock.

“Shyke…” He mumbled, stepping back onto the beach and sitting cross-legged to assess the damage. It was a small cut that would most likely be gone by tomorrow, but petch did it hurt. Atticus sighed and fell back on the sand, staring up at the clouded skies with a defeated gaze.

[Tanell]

Tanell

Tanell did not swim far from the shore. While the cove was calm enough, she did not want to tempt the full force of the ocean. She was a natural swimmer, sure, she had no fear for her father's domain. Rather it was her ability to find her way back that she doubted.

She took care to notice things, the large collection of red stones where she had entered the water. The small corral reef that sat just inside the stronger current of water that curved around the mouth of the cove was her next marker. The current a visible path in the water that told her she had come too far from the shore.

Gentle kicks of her feet brought her back in, and down for a closer look at the fish and the flora in the reef. She didn't know the fish as well, and although she figured they were likely edible, it wasn't worth risking. Instead she pulled a small collection of seaweed, the vibrant greens calling to her as the perfect snack. The grassy green algae was short and hollow, a type of sea lettuce she had read about in a book on her arrival in the new city.

It was on the first soft bite that she heard the return of music in her head. Someone had found her in her quiet space. The sounds were conflicting, a chaotic jumble that she struggled to decipher.

It was all similar in sound, though, a single person, who's feelings were chaotic. Here a rapid beat of some sort of excitement, and something halting and short of note she couldn't decipher. There was a familiar beat, recognizable in intention despite the unfamiliar mind. Lust, a different excitement, always a slow deep sound - strings played low and steady in this case; over laid with a building of sound both volume and pace. The fluttered in and out of existence in her mind, chased by other things. Fright, a piercing screech of a pitch too high for the player, another sound familiar in its shaping regardless of to whom it belonged.

Something was wrong. No one should feel this was about her, not now, she had done nothing to warrant such feelings, and if she had, she needed make it right.

She swam quickly through the water, chasing the music in hopes of finding its origin, but as quickly as it began it ceased. Distracted by something. She was no longer the interest of the person, but likely she owed an apology.

Perhaps it was one of the occupants worried she had not come back from the water.

The sounds mostly lost to her, aside from an occasional flutter, what was perhaps an interest buried away. She had no way of finding the source outside of surfacing.

So she did just that, popping her head above the water with little effort, and maintaining the stance with long slow kicks of her feet. Her arms served similar to paddles, allowing her to turn to survey the shore in the distance.

There were the homes, and further along, a small darker spot on the sand was likely her clothing. She needed to turn further still to find the source of the feelings she had heard. There a spot on the sand, larger than the others, and moving. There was likely her destination.

She dove again, skimming just beneath the surface, not rushing, but no longer seeing the sights and searching the sandy sea floor for snacks. Instead, she trained her gaze forward and followed the movement of the figure, slowly moving down the beach.

The person stumbled, or she thought that was what happened as her view was distorted by the moving water. Regardless, it stopped moving, crumpling into a heap on the sand.

She placed another strand of the greens in her mouth chewing as she swam, only occasionally distracted by the shape of a stone beneath her, or the shell of a creature that shined brilliantly. While she would love more than anything to gather up such things, she could not take them from creatures who might still be needing them. She would just hope that someday when she visited this cove they would wash up upon the shore.

The water around her grew shallow, and she had to slow her kicking further to keep from hitting the sand. As she approached the shore, the taint of blood touched the water around her, bitter and coppery on her tongue.

She swam along a bit further, reluctant to leave the water's embrace so soon, but the draw of worry was stronger than her desire to stay with her father. So she popped above the surface, just her head and shoulders, the rest of her lay in the sand just beneath the crashing surf.

The occasional wave broke higher, washing over her head, pressing her hair into a swirl around her face and neck. It didn't bother her, the taste of salt and sand already on her tongue.

"Hello," She called, her common sufficient to speak with the stranger, although she was by no means eloquent in the tongue. "I'm sorry to bother you, but is everything alright?"