A Fish In Need Of Company... ((Open To All <3))

Lily walked over to the sea shore, a soft wind ruffling her golden hair back. She inhaled deeply, taking in the salty scents of the ocean in which she loved so much. She has been to the sea a lot in her lifetime, but this was the first time she has been here for months. She's been so busy... School, talent shows, piano and violin lessons... But now it was summer vacation. Two months of swimming, painting, and making beautiful music. Now that was something Lily looked forward to. She took a deep breath and looked at her watch. It was 1:34 P.M.. She could swim for two hours then return home earlier than her parents' deadline. "You need to be home by 5:00 P.M.," were their words. That was fine by Lily... And, since swimming exhausted her so much, she may be able to catch a nap in the sun and still return home before 5. Lily had gotten here at the right time. Perfect!

Her eyes were a vibrant shade of gold as she took off her swimsuit coverup to reveal a royal blue one-piece swimsuit (nothing revealing). She set her navy blue flipflops neatly by the short dress and glanced around the pale-sanded beach. There was nobody present (or... so she thought?). So she waded into the crystal-clear water. Whenever she couldn't feel the sand beneath her feet anymore she broke into a steady swim. She kept swimming further and further until she felt her legs go numb. The skin on her thighs and calves combined and hardened into greenish-gray scales. Lily twirled in the ocean water and smiled down at her newly generated tail. She was now a mermaid. The teenage girl dived into the water, going deep towards the ocean floor. As a mermaid and one with the sea, her ears didn't pop or get sore. Once she reached the sand, she lashed her tail, sending herself propelling upward. She sprung out of the water, making a graceful arc in the air before she was submerged in the ocean again. She smiled and giggled in the water, air bubbles floating and popping to the surface. She kept playing and splashing around. This was so much fun! She was so distracted in her games that she didn't detect a presence nearby... On the shore, perhaps? Or could it be another mermaid?

(I WILL JOIN YOU, FRIEND FISH HUMAN)

Alex hummed to herself as her music beat loudly in her ears. She walked with the beat, as her head bobbed to the song. "Because I'm tacky, wear my belt with suspenders and sandals with my socks...." she sang underneath her breath. That's tacky alright, she chuckled. Thankfully, this time she had no errands to run and instead could just relax and have fun, making take a relaxing flight or two. Or maybe not, since her fear of heights still hadn't gone away. She was still afraid of heights of around 18 feet, and that was honestly sad. But it wasn't her fault (well, technically it was... But technicalities.) She took out her phone to look at the time, before slipping her phone back into her pocket. I should try making it back home at 5:30, at the very least.. She hopped down from the wooden platform and down on the soft sand. She took off her shoes and socks, carried them in her hand and made her way to where the ocean eaves lapped gently againdt the beach.


Ah. That was a nice breeze flowing through. Alex inhaled deeply and breathed out slowly. The air was fresh and clean out here, far away from the rest of the city pollution and smelly gases. She was about to turn in a direction, before the flash of scales caught her eye. Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, the teenage Avian paused her music and slid them off to peer closer at the light she had just seen. There it was again! It seemed like.. A person? With scales? Was it like, a mermaid before? Alex had never seen a mermaid. She'd only read about them in legends and myths, and she didn't even know they existed. Then again, there we're tons of species on this Earth that she didn't know existed, so she guessed it wasn't supposed to be so surprising. She shrugged, and turned her music back on. Oh well. If the person wanted to speak to her, they'd come talk to get themselves. She wasn't going to bother with introducing herself first.

The day was rather beautiful this fine morning. You could hear the gentle chirping of birds in the distance, and the loud caws of seagulls that flew over head. A gentle breeze would dash through, leaving behind it the faint fragrance of the sea. The salty, rich smell would tell you even before you saw the great blue beast, that you were close to its gaping, wet jaws. A figure was walking across the pathway, her attire quite peculiar for this region, being rather arabian, and not so much for the city, or a place like this. But still, she found it quite peaceful. That was, until hunger started to gnaw at her again. This caused her to let out an exasperated sigh.

She would need to find somewhere nice to eat something. Maybe there was a local beach side restaurant she could attend. As the young woman approached the sands of the beach, she noticed something. There seemed to be a shimmer of scales on the water. Oddly enough, she noticed this, and not the girl walking towards her, with headphones on. She accidentally bumped into this girl. Lightly, not enough to knock her over, though.

Of course, she quickly apologized, dipping her head. "I'm so sorry, miss. I didn't notice you."

Lily was having the time of her life. When she arose from the rippling waters once more, she looked back at the shore and saw... a person?! Her leap was cut short and she barreled back underwater. She panted through the gills on her neck. Who was that? She didn't have a problem with company-- it was a public beach, by the way --but what if her mother spotted her? Or what if that was a person who lived in Lily's neighborhood and told her mother of her.. 'power'? Lily was too afraid of rejection if her parents found out.

After taking a deep, steady breath, she flicked her gray-green tail and rose back to the surface. She poked her head out she could see who was walking on the beach. Lily allowed a sigh of relief escape her lungs. It was someone she didn't recognize. Lily could see she was a girl, wearing headphones. She batted her tail in the beginnings of an approach, and it was then she saw another person walk on the shore. Another woman. This was also someone Lily Branwen didn't recall seeing. She ducked a little deeper in the water, examining the two, and grew closer.

Alex suddenly stumbled when something bumped into her. Her large wings, which were tucked neatly and invisibly along her back, opened minimully to gain balance agajn. She quickly regained her footing, looking up from her phone. A young-looking woman stood before her, dressed in strange--was that Arabian?--clothes that definitely weren't from this region. The woman apologized, and Alex put her phone away to signal with her hands that it was fine. "No, it's fine," she offered the woman a small smile. It was mostly her fault anyway... Guess her mom was right about the not being on the phone while walking.

Well. Whatever.

Alex rolled up the sleeves of her goodie, as she turned her attention to something that caught the corner of her eye. Was it the strange scaled creature from before? She stared at the half-submerged head that was staring at them with unnatural golden eyes.

Alex grew perplexed. Maybe it was just a human after all? But when she caught the unmistakable flistening of scales underneath the waves, it became clear.

She gave the girl a wry smile as well, just to be nice. It occured to her that she tended to smile when she was in public spaces. Not a genuine, happy smile, but a small, wry smile. Her friends had pointed it out to her as well, but she had never noticed until recently.

Blushing slightly as she watched the mysterious young woman simply shrug her off, flashing her a quick smile, before continuing on her way, the snake woman would glance back at her cautiously. Having been raised in the jungle, she was not used to these new technologies. They were far beyond her comprehension, which is why she chose to stay near the desert. Their technology wasn't nearly as advanced as some of the stuff by the mainland, or near the capital, for example. Even simple things like what the girl was wearing disturbed her. She disliked being surrounded by all this technology.

Shaking it off, she decided to keep walking. She wasn't sure where, but she did know she would be setting up camp soon. As she walked, however, she could have sworn she spotted something in the ocean. A flash of scales, perhaps? She paused, and glanced out at it. Curiously, she flicked her tongue in and out, wondering if she could pick up a scent. All she could pick up, however, was the scent of the strange girl who had just walked by, and the strong, overwhelming burden of the ocean. She definitely tasted the salt.

Frowning, she wondered if it would be worth her time to investigate. Probably not.