PM to join People of the Sea (Mak'Viri)

[Leas]

Once Mak'Viri was gone, back to the city, Leas wasn't quite sure what to do. For a while she just laid in the sunlight, eyes closed against the weakening rays. She breathed in deeply of the salty air and exhaled slowly, trying to clear her mind. Her fingers caressed the soft sand and the bay's waves climbed just high enough to tickle her fins. Another inhale and exhale. Very slowly, her thoughts grew blank. The low roar of the ocean was a dull hum in the back of her mind, lulling her into a half-sleeping state. She could imagine the sea foam swirling over her fins and drawing back into the endless body of water, only the crawl back up the sand again like roaming fingers. Meditation was not her strong suit. Her mind was an active thing, always wandering and roaming. Or maybe it was the surroundings. A gull cried somewhere down the beach and her brows knit together as she tried to block out the unwelcome noise. Slowly, she deepened her breathing again and clumsily stowed all thoughts away once more. Foam swirled and lapped across her tail, climbing higher than before. It cooled off her warm body and ran off her slick, water repellent fur. Click click clack! Leas' brows furrowed again and her lips turned down. She was soothing herself with thoughts of tall grass swirling in a breeze. The grassland in her mind went on for miles before suddenly dropping off and straight down into the sea, where waves crashed against the stone wall of earth in a battle for supremacy. Imaginary sea birds floated gracefully on thermals, soaring high into the air before plummeting back down just to be throw back up by the winds. She'd seen birds do this often, and it was mesmerizing to watch even in her mind. Click click! "What?" she growled, her concentration broken. Opening her eyes, she looked around quickly. A crab scuttled toward the surf, pausing occasionally to click its pincers loudly toward the sky. She glared at it, and it seemed to glare back. Click! Leas smacked some sand at the little creature, showering it with grains that fell harmlessly on its exoskeleton. Clack click! She groaned loudly and rolled onto her stomach, awkwardly shambling in the opposite direction of the crab, toward the city where Mak'Viri had gone. Her footprints were still fresh in the sand; Leas hadn't been lying alone for any more than a bell. So she followed the tracks, albeit at an agonizingly slow pace. After a while, she stopped. Her arms shivered from exertion, and her breathing had grown labored. Mak'Viri's tracks disappeared around a bend further ahead. Leas looked behind her to see how far she'd gone. Her own tracks covered up the footprints she'd been following. It looked as if a Dhani had slithered down the beach, cutting a single path through the sand. And she hadn't moved very far. Disappointment anchored her in place. I'll just wait here. With a heavy sigh, she let herself drop back to the warm sand, her cheek pillowed by half-dry curls. I hope Mak'Viri has some luck with that chair. The pang of longing that hit her when she imagined being able to move so much more easily on land was almost overwhelming. Leas wasn't sure how long she imagined what the streets of Zeltiva looked like, or what it would be like to finally be able to move freely among people on land. But eventually the thoughts lulled her back to sleep, along with the help of the warm sun. It was a deep, restful sleep, one that she needed after the earlier swim, but when she started to stir into wakefulness, she felt like always that she needed more. Her face puckered as she stretched her body, arching it and groaning as the muscles protested with a delicious shiver. Always the best part of waking up. When her eyes opened, she had to blink rapidly against the glare and wipe the sand away that had been smeared across her face. "Wha-?" The sun was setting behind Mak'Viri's back, creating a silhouette of the Konti. It took Leas a long moment to actually recognize the woman, and she sat up with a wild start, curls sticking out haphazardly where they weren't plastered to the dried drool streaks on her cheeks. Leas was not a beautiful sleeper. "How long have you been sitting there?" she gasped groggily. "Hopefully not too long." Embarrassment colored her cheeks a heavy pink. "You really should have woke me up as soon as you got back."