[Freezair]

Marina saw what looked like a large pearl, wrapped up in a fine whorl of wire. She examined it with a lapidary's eye. What she found surprised her. "Plastic casing," she said. Her paw traced out a seam along the side of the pearl. "I thought these might be fake. But... where did they come from, then?"

She squinted down the line of fallen not-jewels. Off in the distance, a great shadow seemed to be sinking into the water. A few humanoid shapes swam toward them. Marina's eyes flew open. "A sinking ship! Someone's ship is falling apart!"

[15]

[wave3girl]

Disappointment hit Koi like a bucket of Shells. "They are fake?" He groaned. "At least we had an adventure guessing." He silently mopped. He really wanted them to be real; they could have got an award or something from that.
He turned to where Marina was talking about. Human shaped objects fell from the surface. He panicked a little. 'What if people are hurt? We should do something!' he started “Let go help!”
He dashed quickly in the direction they pointed.  “We have to do something!”

[Freezair]

"I don't know how much we can do. I can't carry a whole person," she frowned. "But let's see anyway!"

She poked her head above the water and twitched her wet ears. Not far from where she rose, a small, white ship sank sorrowfully into the waves. Her heart brightened, however, when she saw the life rafts, burgeoned with people, moving away from the ship. It was disaster, but maybe not such a disaster.

Marina approached the boat, carefully keeping her head above water. Humans didn't hear so well beneath it. "Excuse me!" she said, trying to catch their attention. The sailors focused intently on rowing, but a few looked at her. "Is everyone alright? I noticed the wreck, and..."

"A friendly sea-creature!" one of the men said. "Thank you for your concern, but we all made it out OK. No one's even injured. But the same can't be said of our cargo."

"What was that cargo?" she asked confusedly. She had an idea, but it was a strange one.

"Costume jewelry!" he frowned. "It all washed overboard! Not great--the Evelonian Environmental Protection Agency is going to throw a fit, and I can't blame them! We just accidentally dumped a bunch of plastic into the sea..."

[16]

[wave3girl]

Koi poked his head up over the waves to try and hear. He disliked the air above it dried him out.  Listening in he poked Marina to get her attention.  He whispered, "Maybe we can help." He shouted out,"How much Jewelry did you loose? What type of costume jewelry?"

[Freezair]

"It's like--well, it's like that!" The sailor pointed to just beneath the water's surface. The first diamond still lingered in Marina's paw. "When our boat sprung a hole, we started leaking that stuff all over the area! Big, fakey jewels and necklaces and the like. But if you're offerin' to look for 'em, I won't turn it down!"

"Sir, we're on the case!" Marina said chipperly. "C'mon, Koi! I think this looks like a great adventure!" She disappeared into the brine with a flick of her tail, skimming the surface.

[17]

[wave3girl]

Koi slapped his fin on the surface with agreement, "Let's go!"   He swished his tail going deeper and deeper to start collecting the fake jewels where they were last.   As the plastic gems held down Koi he began to worry. “What do we do with the jewels? We need to put them in a safe spot.” He asked. He turned his head to Marina in question.

[Freezair]

"Hold on a second," one of the sailors said. Marina waited patiently while most of them rowed ashore. Then, with most of them on solid ground, the soldier she'd been speaking with rowed back towards them. Most of the lifeboat was empty.

"Put it in here," he advised.

Marina saluted him, and dove down. She collected as many pieces as she could before returning them to the boat. But when, from the surface, she scanned what was left, she sighed. "Koi, there's so much stuff dumped out here! Do you think we can do this all on our own?"

[wave3girl]

He swam back and forth from boat to the black sand carrying a bag full and any he could carry into his fins before going back to the boat. he made many trips before seeing Marina. He sighed, "I think we need for people to help."
Looking around he noticed a school of fish coming in there direction. He suggested, "Maybe they can help?"


((Sorry for the day of being gone, I was a photo shoot, and then all night playing 'Dungeons and Dragons' with my friends. I needed the few days off. I'm back now.))

[Freezair]

((It's OK; I'm more worried about getting the room finished than this. Also, do you mind if I introduce a new character into this RP?))

Marina quickly approached the fish. Some of the school flittered and scattered, but what remained, she spoke to quickly. "Please! We need your help!"

But they were fish, and little more. Most of them just stared at her, with their big, glowing eyes. Others went about their lunch. All of Marina's fins drooped dejectedly.

"We need smart people to help us. People who are pet-creatures, like us. I know there are others, but..." She bit her lower lip. But they were back in the Merham city. What would he think if he brought her there?

[19]

[wave3girl]

Koi didn't think straight. He wanted to help the people who crashed. They seemed nice but needed help with their lost items. "The are not many places we can find evelonians here.  Do you know any?"  He flipped his fins back in forth circling her. His nerves getting to him. Where could they find others?
"Maybe we can some if we search for groups." he thought out loud.

[Freezair]

((Does that mean I can?))

"Actually, I... know some people," Marina said, suddenly shy. "In the Merham city, where I'm from. It's not too far a swim. We could go there and ask," Marina said. Her scales went pale. "But... I gotta warn you. Some people might react...strangely, to me."

Absentmindedly, she toyed with the blue shell on her necklace. Even if they'd never seen her face, every Merham in Es-Wish Es-Wish knew the blue scallop and what it stood for.

[wave3girl]

"We can go to Merham city. We should get more help, you're right." He squealed. He flipped his tail in anticipation. He adjusted his bag and looked around. "Which direction is Merham city anyways? Is it south?" Koi looked at Marina in guidance.

((We can defiantly bring characters into this RP. Sorry for the month delay I had school, health, and projects to finish. I'm back now for a little while at least.))

[Freezair]

"This way," Marina said, frowning slightly. "But... be warned, again. People might... seem a bit odd around me."

Marina turned tail and began swimming towards the seafloor. She skimmed over the sand, kicking up little eddies with her fins, and dove down into a fissure between two rocks. The passage was narrow. A large creature would not make it through. Marina lead her friend through the darkness for a ways. A shaft of light appeared overhead, suddenly, and they were in a more open space. Marina surfaced quickly to make sure they were in the right place. And they were. It was an old volcano crater, flooded by the sea. The old walls of the volcano protected the city from many threats, and harsh weather. But it still let in sunlight.

Just beneath the surface, in the water, the city gleamed. Sculpted from water-worn stone, sand, shells and glass, the city glittered in the water. Merhams of many different colors swam through the high pillars of coral, and anemones adorned the ground and walls the way people on land might keep flowerbeds. At first, Marina hovered at a distance, merely observing. Then, with a sigh, she dove down towards a colorful, jewel-lined structure near the city's center.

"Come on," she said. "We're going to go meet... another friend of mine."

[21]

[wave3girl]

Kio followed his friend to her house. He flipped in the water a few time due to how fast they were going: their quests partial urgency and they needed to go quickly. He flicked his tail as Marina crested at the surface. An old volcanic mountain was slowly eroded away by the rains here. Before he could ask Marina what that was called she was underwater again. He followed after her.
After a while of swimming in silence they came to a glittering city of coloured glass, sandstone and shells. The city was like a shining castle Kio's owner use to tell him when he was ill. It was beautiful.
"WOW, it's GORGEOUS here!" he claimed, "You live here?"
He listened to his friend pause, "I get to see your other friend? How many friends do you have?"

[Freezair]

For a moment, Marina smiled. "Yes, I do. And it is pretty good, isn't it?" Then her smile faded, as she continued to swim towards the center castle. Several merhams, swimming the streets, stopped for a moment and stared. One twisted over in a motion somewhat like a bow. Marina tried to ignore him, and swam into the central building. It almost looked like a castle.

A slightly panicked-looking fish swam around in circles inside a bright marble reception hall.



Silvery, weather-beaten armor gleamed on his head and tail. Bubbles rose from his mouth as he shouted. "MARINA...! MARINA! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Meekly, Marina spoke up. "I'm here... Oscar."

With worried eyes, Oscar turned and swam up to her. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you! The Chief would be furious if he found out I let you slip away! You know the seas have been dangerous as of late, and you're not supposed to go out on your own! I... Wait, who's that with you?" He looked strangely towards the little Kuni, seeming confused.

[22, 1]