Welcome to Gaia! ::

The iced tea was so refreshing to fend off the sweltering heat. If it wasn't so danged humid! Gods, this heatwave made her miss the cool breezes of Belrea's mountains. At least a little bit of Belrea was here right now though... She glanced over at Aleksi as they walked along the beach. She was still adjusting to the altered colors on him, but she had no complaints.

"I think a dip in the water might be in order," she mused with a c**k of her head. "Interested?"

Shierra laughed as she slipped out of her light layers. "Apparently, I did not." Though their hearts were full of fire, she appreciated that they both seemed to appreciate their more water based roots. Leaving her clothes in a pile, she skipped on ahead until the water brushed at her knees.

"The zanteer are more likely to try climbing on you than attack at all, so you'll just wanna be where your feet touch the ground if they come around. The drow aren't really dangerous, but they have a sharp sail on their backs and teeth that they know how to use if you accidently hit one." Her expression took on a more serious tone. "You'll wanna keep an eye out for the snapptrotters. They've got a heck of a bite. And the coral can be pretty sharp if you step on it. Practically cut my foot open once as a kid." Dang. She'd been swimming in this ocean her whole life and rarely gave thought to the dangers present! "The coral's usually further out, but the 'trotters go wherever they feel like."

Shierra grinned and shrugged innocently. "What can I say? The ocean's like the people here. Fun but often dangerous~"

She blinked once, a flinch at the reminder that Aleksi would have to leave eventually... but it was over in an instant. She tapped her chin and then nodded. "I bet we could. Pieces of broken coral, shells, stones, maybe some coin that fell out of a swimmer's pocket." She pushed to fall back into the water and creep a little deeper in. "Maybe you could get lucky and find one of those conch shells. No matter where you take it, you'll be able to hear the ocean if you hold it up to your ear."

Oooh, a competition! Well, there was no time to waste, now. "May the best fire-flinger win!" she teased. She took a deep breath and dove underneath the surface. After sparing just a small moment to enjoy the feeling of the water cooling her head off, Shierra kicked and starting looking around for signs of objects in the sandy ground. Times like this made her jealous of the Kahikinans. Digging for ocean treasures would be so much easier if she could breath underwater.

Her fingers combed through the sand in earnest seeking. It would have been nice to let herself wander into the calm of flying under the water's surface, but a challenge was afoot, and she was on a mission! She passed by some small shells, some kind of stone, and- oh!

Shierra popped up from the surface with a gasp and a grin. This would be good! Seeing that Aleksi was already back up and looking at something in his hands, she grinned and pushed through the water toward him. "Lookit," she announced with confidence. It was a branch of coral with multiple smaller limbs that curled intricately like roots. Somehow, it had broken off from a larger body and washed its way to the shallows of the beach.

Shierra's expression betrayed the initial amazement she felt at the sight of the stones. Oh! Oh..... She looked down at the coral in her hands flatly. The coral was really interesting and pretty, but did it beat what Aleksi had found? She let out a 'humph' and held the coral back out. "If you want it, I guess."

The sway of the water was noticed too late. In her youth of practically living in that water, she would have noticed the movement of the ocean with enough time to brace herself. Now though, her eyes widened at the feel of the push of the hefty wave against her side. She jerked forward to compensate and keep herself upright.. and her heart skipped when she could only helplessly watch as her hand with the coral swung out for balance. Straight toward Aleksi's hand with the stone.

When the wave passed and they were both stable again, she was almost afraid to look down even as her gaze lowered to check their prizes. Oh gods, even the stone?! "s**t!" Shierra's cheeks burned with frustration, and her fingers prickled with the urge to throw flames around. Finding cool things just to be clumsy in a stupid wave and break them? It had been so pretty, and-! and.. Aleksi wasn't upset?

She looked up at him with confusion, followed by understanding and amused resignation. Being reminded to make the best of the situation wasn't as satisfying as simply raging, but the softer part of her appreciated it. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes and accepted the halved offerings with a smirk. "You're such a dork."