[Jaden Wolf]

Idalani (Ida) (Click IMG for Human)

Ah, Idalani Falls; the lovers' triangle. Quite a beautiful place, with forest around it and meadows and grassy ledges. Best of all, the falls themselves, sparkling in the sunlight as they cascade down into the pool below. Not to mention this was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, birds singing, and a rather warm temperature for this time of year.

But this story doesn't start here. No, this story starts under the surface of the churning waters.

Down in that watery abyss, fish swim along happily, accompanied by various other water-going animals. The green seabed reaches up towards them, as if it could reach the sunlight peering through the surface above their heads. From within the tumble of water below the falls, a series of giggles could be heard, echoing in the odd muffled way that most things do in the water.

Before long, a fish fluttered by, curious, only to be startled by a girl's head as it poked out from amidst the bubbles. With another giggle, the girl pulled out of the hazardous water and began twisting and turning as she danced around the rather large pond.

[Jaden Wolf]

Ahmei (Click img for human form)

Strolling along among the blooming flowers, a girl dressed in a strange tribal outfit leaned her face back to the sun, absorbing its heat. As she did so, a small, faint tattoo of a flame became visible on her bare stomach. After only a few moments, the faded brown grew brighter and the tattoo grew larger. Once it was covering the entire central area of her stomach, the girl lowered her head and gave a sigh of content. It was then that she noticed where her feet had taken her. A distance ahead of her lay the falls, and to her left, the pool began to still as it fed the constant flow of water into a river. With a few steps, she was standing over its edge, watching her rippling reflection.

By that point, the girl under the water had stopped her dance and was now playfully chasing some poor little kuni around. It was then that a shadow was cast over the other end of the pool, drawing her attention. Flitting over curiously, she sunk to the lowest depth and swam into the shadow. Looking up at the surface, she saw another girl with red hair and purple eyes looking down at her. Or rather, at the pool...as she didn't seem to notice that she wasn't alone. That was quite common, as the water spirit was rather good at masking her presence from others...intentionally or not. Slowly she drifted up to the surface, unknowingly placing her face right under the reflection of the other.

[Jaden Wolf]

The girl blinked as she tried to figure out if she was imagining things or if there seemed to be another face behind her own. A second later, the other face broke the surface and she started, stepping back and nearly tripping on...something. Gathering herself, Ahmei stepped back forward and looked at the girl that had startled her. Her blue eyes stared at her and a giggle escaped her smiling lips before she vanished back beneath the water. Getting on her hands and knees, Ahmei scanned the water in confusion. Where had the other come from, and how was she staying under for so long?
"Hey, who are you? Where are you?" she called to the water's surface and feeling quite ridiculous for doing so.

~ - ~

When Ida had appeared before her visitor, she had not expected the other to be so surprised. She was concerned when she saw her stumble, but after a moment, the red-haired girl's face reappeared and Ida smiled. Those surface dwelling mortals are so odd, she thought to herself with a giggle, and then she slipped back under the water. Slowly sinking and turning, Ida kept her eyes curiously on her guest, who hung over the surface. Faintly, she could hear the girl calling, her ears hardly hindered by the water. After a moment of consideration, Ida arched forward, curling up. She then kicked out and shot to the surface. Putting her hands out at the last second, she slowed enough to avoid jumping right into the girl's face, but not enough to prevent a wave of water from crashing onto her guest.

[Freezair]

Desdemona~~~~~~Jessica

No wild adventures today, nor fantastic escapades. Today, for Desdemona and Jessica, today was a day close to home. The sun lounged contentedly overhead, and the two Paragon did the same below. They stretched themselves out over the rocks, tails snaking over the stone, in an attempt to press as much of their bodies as possible against the sun-warmed slate. Desdemona let out a sigh. Little sparks of magic flickered out of her muzzle: Embers first, then sparks, then a flicker of something green that almost looked like leaves.

The antennae on Jessica's head twitched. Suddenly, her head rose, and she stared down below them. A young woman seemed to be toying with a watery pool near a waterfall's base.

Desdemona followed her gaze. "What is it, Jess? See something?"

Jessica blinked. She stared into the water. Was there another girl swimming there? Maybe. An ordinary girl, it seemed. Was it?

"...Jess?"

"It's nothing," Jessica said. "Really. I just thought for a second... Never mind."

Desdemona's crest of feathers flew up. "Ooh! Tell me! C'mon, Jess, don't leave me hanging!"

Jessica pulled her paws in. "Ahh, it's nothing. I thought... I thought I sensed a spirit, was all."

"A spirit!" Desdemona was suddenly up on her feet. "A powerful one? An Elemental, maybe?"

"I don't know," Jessica said. "It was just a thought. I'm probably wrong. I'm not so great at sensing spirits. You probably shouldn't be too concerned--"

"Woo! C'mon, Jess, let's go check it out!" Desdemona's wings flew apart, in a glittering blast of crepuscular color. With a single wild leap, she pounced down from their rocky perch and began to glide toward the pool. Jessica hesitated. But with Desdemona so sure, what else was there to be done? She gave her wings a weak beat, and began to follow her friend down to the poolside, where Ahmei, too, seemed to be wondering about the curious spirit that dwelt in the pool.

[7-7]

[Jaden Wolf]

It was somewhat strange that Ida had not noticed the two Paragon that had been resting right above her head this whole time. Then again, she'd probably been sleeping under the roar of the waterfall at the time they'd arrived. But my the girl was surprised when two large shadows were cast over the water. Just as Ahmei started wiping the water off of her face, Ida sank back into the depths, well out of view of the people on the surface. Not to say she couldn't see them; how could she not see those two huge figures above her? Ahmei on the other hand was now rather blurry and hard to see...this pool was much deeper than most people thought; gouged out by the force of the water that fell into it. Ida wanted to see what happened with her guests before leaving the safety of her watery domain.

Ahmei on the other hand, didn't notice the two paragon right away. How could she, with water and wet hair plastered on her face? Wiping at it uselessly with equally wet hands, she finally gave up and focused on the warm feeling within her. After only a second or two, her skin warmed, drying up the water. Her hair she left slightly damp, unwilling to use more of her power for something so trivial. It was now that she noticed that she wasn't alone. Well, not counting the strange girl in the water. Standing back up, Ahmei looked up and swayed for a moment from the feeling of vertigo she got from looking up at such large creatures.
"Hello!" she called to them, momentarily ignoring the other girl who she figured had gone into hiding again.

[Freezair]

"Hello," Desdemona waved. "We heard there was a spirit nearby!"

Jessica seemed to shrink back. She moved into a spot behind Desdemona, with only her neck sticking out. "Oh, um... we aren't really sure, actually. We only... we only thought we sensed something. It's nothing much. We... we were only curious. We didn't mean to bother you."

"How'd you get all wet?" Desdemona stuck the tip of her beak towards the pool. The water rippled within. She thought she saw something, twitching below, but the ripples obsctructed her view. "The spirit, right?"

"Desdemona..." Jessica shrunk away.

"Is it a water spirit? Because water is kind of like ice!" Desdemona gazed, enraptured, into the depths. "Maybe they can teach me ice magic!":