Sohalia
Tal reached up and squeezed her hand, and Soh turned away to conceal a blush. It was actually quite nice, this casual physical touch, now that she was getting used to it. But she supposed that didn't mean that the flutter in her stomach at the contact was just going to disappear.She tried to take things slowly as they waded into the deeper, faster-flowing water. It wasn't enough of a current to drag them under, but it was certainly enough to feel. They made their way into the water and worked their way down. Each time she felt the rope tighten against her waist, she glanced back toward her friend, checking to make sure he didn't need her. To her relief, he seemed to be handling their underwater adventure quite well, and they made good time to a cavern entrance.
It was there that she waited for Tal to take the lead, and he did with only a moment's hesitation. She followed carefully, stretching her arms out in front of her to make sure she wasn't about to run into anything that would pop her air bubble. Since she was effectively blind, it was a surprise when she felt Tal's hand close around hers, and she instinctively squeezed in an effort to give him reassurance. Or excitement, she realized as he tugged her forwards. She waited in the darkness, feeling a bit forlorn that she was missing whatever it was that had caught Tal's attention. Then he was tugging her back through the cave, and she followed carefully, keeping a hold on his hand until she could begin to see a faint light at the end of a tunnel. Following their rope, she led the way back toward the surface.
When the broke the surface, the bubbles disappeared with a loud pop! and the ringing in her ears began to dissipate. They'd floated a ways downstream, and she flipped on her back, swimming towards the nearby shoreline with Tal in tow, keeping an eye on him to make sure he was alright now that they were at the surface again. The edge of the water here was steeper, and she leveraged herself out of the water, twisting until she sat on the edge of the river. She held out a hand to Tal with a grin, offering him a hand up if he wanted it.
"That was incredible!" she said, positively overflowing with curious energy. "Did the goggles work? Did you find anything? What did you see?"
it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going
