He couldn't smile in this form, but he bobbed his head amiably again, glad to have given her something to look forward to. Her insistence on seeing the real thing - touching it - had cheerful amusement bubbling up beneath the surface of his thoughts and through the Attuned bond. Dry fur feels very different than wet fur, he agreed. I don't know if you'd have to come out on land to do it, or maybe if the Attuned lion could come out to you in a boat, and you could reach up to pet it over the side...? He didn't know what her own limitations were for surviving dry land, if she could hitch her way up onto the beach for a short time, or even into a boat without risking her fish-half drying out. Her marvelous spines looked delicately ethereal the way they fanned and floated in the water, but that didn't mean they were. He just didn't know enough about her to guess one way or the other.
Jigano ran into the same problems that Delta had, as he searched beneath the waves. He extended down as far as he could while remaining anchored - nearly fifteen feet - and nosed around the base of the rocks, but the wave action made the water cloudy with sand so close to the stones and the few shells he found where the wrong shape and already inhabited. It was a relief to hear the mermaid had more luck, and he worked his slow way back above the water to get another breath and examine the sharply broken shell - half of a large clam, once, if he had to guess - in satisfaction. His tongue flicked out, running over the gem in his mouth, to taste the salt-sand flavor of it, finding a hint of meaty flavor still clinging to the underside. It's a fresh break, looks sharp, he agreed. Where's this net that's gotten in the way?
Jigano ran into the same problems that Delta had, as he searched beneath the waves. He extended down as far as he could while remaining anchored - nearly fifteen feet - and nosed around the base of the rocks, but the wave action made the water cloudy with sand so close to the stones and the few shells he found where the wrong shape and already inhabited. It was a relief to hear the mermaid had more luck, and he worked his slow way back above the water to get another breath and examine the sharply broken shell - half of a large clam, once, if he had to guess - in satisfaction. His tongue flicked out, running over the gem in his mouth, to taste the salt-sand flavor of it, finding a hint of meaty flavor still clinging to the underside. It's a fresh break, looks sharp, he agreed. Where's this net that's gotten in the way?
