[SE] ocean's echo

Well, Aurelia getting ahead of them isn’t exactly what Nate had had in mind, but he can’t exactly be upset about it. If not him winning, then he supposes she’s the next best thing.

He’s thinking a little bit more about wrestling Sunjata into the sandy ground than he is the race, this quickly becoming a matter of pride. A tail sweep his feet out from under him, though Nate refuses to be bested like that, an arm reaching out to wrap around Sunjata’s head in an inelegant headlock, dragging them both down.

“[say]Looks like you’re winnin’![/say]” Nate shouts at the new arbiter’s back from where he’s twisted, a wide grin on his face. He can’t focus too much on her though, not when he has a grapple to try and win.

She pauses, not so concerned about getting there last - 'cause the boys seem keen on continuing their wrestling match. She folds her arms over her chest as she watches the two of them wriggle and grapple around, the both of them trying to get a hold over each other. Fine, okay.

Casually, she begins to drift around them, looking every bit like an innocent bystander; as if she's waiting for them to just get it over with so they can go back to what they were actually going to do. Except she's not.

Once she's behind them a good distance, she suddenly kicks out, propelling herself through the water. She leans her shoulder in first to let it take the force of the blow as she rams in to tackle Nate, arms going around his waist. [say]"Damn right I'm winnin'!"[/say] It's a muffled declaration, but a declaration all the same.

[say]You bastard.[/say] Sunjata manages to snicker through the bond as his head is trapped in a makeshift headlock, both going down to the sandy ground. The tail hadn’t worked as anticipated, but that’s okay. He can still use it to try and put a wedge between Nate and him, as if it might help his head to slip out from the hold the demigod has on him. His words to Aurelia are a belated thought – as is Aurelia’s judgement from the side.

Until it isn’t anymore, and the new Arbiter is launching herself at them through the water. She aims to tackle Nate but he’s caught in a bit of a crossfire, one of the Arbiter’s arms catching his right side as he tries to grapple Nate. And maybe? Just maybe he’ll be able to use it as a distraction to depart and win, given that Aurelia’s hopefully trapped by Nate.

Victory seems all but assured, at least as far as the grapple is concerned. He’s got Sunjata right where he wants him, helpless and squirming. A shocked gasp bubbles out of Nate’s throat as Aurelia comes barrelling into him, outrage clear on his face. “[say]Traitor![/say]” He roars, breaking the hold he has on Sunjata to shove him down into the sand and instead react to Aurelia’s assault.

She might have the element of surprise on her side, but Nate has a pair of not-so secret weapons he’s been holding back on, until a moment such a this. Faux arms appear, glowing dully in the water, and latch on around Aurelia’s ankles, trying to drag her away before she can do any real damage.

Bubbles of laughter echo out from Aurelia as the exclamation tremors out through the waters. Her hands clasp firmly around Nate as they tumble through the water, intending to make his life very difficult right now. Only, the grip of other hands on her ankles makes her start.

It must be Sunjata, she thinks, until they're pulling her off and she realizes the governor is nowhere to be seen. As her feet kick out against the faux arms, she realizes he's made a get-away. [say]"Nate stop! He's- gahhh-! Sunjata! Get back here ya coward!"[/say] She tries to shimmy out from the grip the extra hands have on her legs, kicking and stirring away until she can give chase to Sunjata now.

That is, if Nate doesn't decide to give her some well-deserved payback.

Oh, it works somewhat according to plan – the Attuned managing to break free with the roar of traitor bubbling in the water and Sunjata’s side and hip (fin or not) is shoved into the sand. But he uses it as his escape, as those staticky arms appear and reach for Aurelia, Sunjata zips forward – through the water like a bullet, turning back only when he thinks he has enough space between them, a crooked grin spreading across his face.

[say]Get her, Nate![/say] He cheers mentally, fin flexing in the water as some sort of propeller to keep him upright in the water. Trying to catch Aurelia’s gaze, he mimes the idea of a bowl of popcorn, pretending to lift a handful to take a bite, shrugging with a look that seems to suggest she’d gotten herself into this mess and she could get herself out.

For the first moment Nate doesn’t care that Sunjata has broken free of them and dashed away, not while he’s still grappling with Aurelia. It’s only when the attuned stops, and turns with his cheeky little popcorn that Nate really pays attention.

[say]Oh, you think this is funny?[/say] Nate shouts back through the bond, an idea coming to him suddenly. He plants his feet on the ground and starts to spin, dragging Aurelia through the water with him. A poetic way to teach both of them a lesson. He gets some momentum going, some real heft, and then looses the arbiter towards his husband, dashing off behind her to get ahead of them both in the confusion.

Though she's trying to shift the attention towards Sunjata, Nate is pretty determined to get her back for the little stunt she pulled. Which she doesn't mind, giving into a grapple with him, trying her best to be faster than his four fucking hands.

Struggling against Nate, it isn't until he pauses that her gaze follows his towards Sunjata. Where the merman is 'eating popcorn' and shrugging at her. Her expression pinches into something indignantly offended, though that quickly shifts towards surprise when Nate is suddenly dragging her along...

and propelling her into Sunjata. Her hands dive forward, thinking quickly. She'll try to use him as leverage, to push off from him with her hands and feet, and swim after Nate while leaving Mr. Merman behind in the... dust? Bubbles..? But she has no hope of catching up to Mr. Four-Hands.

The city is coming up pretty quickly at this point. Nate will reach it first, undoubtedly. She grumbles, coming to a halt in the water and crossing her arms. [say]"Fine! You win!"[/say] Then, her façade finally cracks and she offers him a small grin. [say]"But you're both under arrest for cheating!"[/say] And she'll dive after them again. Not that there had been any rules to begin with.

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fin! (get it?)