in over my head

Sohalia

Sohalia grinned at her friend, tickled to have a reason to spend more time with him. "We can definitely keep doing lessons," she assured him. "Maybe next time, we can try a different place. Maybe Torchline? I've never been there before." But she was getting ahead of herself. "But for now, I'd say you've earned a rest." It was true. He'd done well, and she was proud of him.

The view from the inside of the goggles wasn't that different from the view without them, albeit a little darker than Soh was used to. "Well, if you're sure..." she said hesitantly, trying hard (and failing) not to betray her excitement, to give Tal time to change his mind. When he didn't, she untied herself from the rope connecting them and eased back into the water, shivering slightly at the sudden chill. "I'll be right back! Hold onto this?" And she handed him the longer rope - the one that would let her find her way back.

She dove back into the river and swam strongly to the bottom, where she found more ringing algae. She tried to retrace their steps as best she could, but it was tricky; it took a few moments to find the cavern entrance, and she grinned as she slipped back inside. Sure enough, the cavern got darker, but Soh's vision didn't dim, and after a few moments of swimming through the inky blackness of the caves, she saw them: golden scales gleaming in the darkness, belonging to giant fish larger than her thigh. Soh gasped with delight, wishing they would wake up and swirl around her, wondering what it would be like to be caught up in their underwater dance.

Then she remembered that Tal was waiting for her, so she made her way back out of the cave and followed the rope back to him. "Wow!" she exclaimed almost as soon as she broke the surface. "Those are incredible! And those fish! Have you ever seen anything so big?" She clambered from the water to flop on the ground beside her friend. She removed the goggles carefully, almost reverently, and handed them back to Tal. "Thanks for letting me borrow them," she added, flashing a brilliant smile. It was certainly an experience she wouldn't forget any time soon!

it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going

"Torch works," Tal agreed, surprising himself a little with how easy it was to go along with Soh's suggestion. A year ago he'd grumbled every time he'd set foot on the beach, beaten down by the heat of the coast and longing for the cool comfort of Halo...

But he definitely didn't want to take swimming lessons in Svaturis Bay!

He was more than happy to stay flopped on the grass, though he watched Soh with his prized Goggles a little anxiously. Still, he'd made the offer and he wasn't a man to go back on his word. He swallowed and nodded. "Yeah," he assured her. "I've got it..." He took the rope and wrapped it firmly around his arm a few times, making sure it was secure as she dived fearlessly back into the water.

The wait wasn't an easy one. He had no trouble coming up with dangerous scenarios that Soh could have run into beneath the waves and he eventually sat up to peer into the river, and then stood up to pace, gripping the rope tightly as he stayed withing a few feet of the bank. It felt like she was gone for hours (though it wasn't nearly so long) before she resurfaced and he hurried to help her back onto dry land. The relief was palpable and visible in his face as she chattered excitedly, and he grinned as he accepted his Goggles back - only barely managing to stop himself from snatching at them.

"Plenty o' things bigger than they are," he laughed. "But they're the biggest fish I've ever seen, yeah. An'... you're welcome. Thanks for takin' me t'see them first," he added, a little more shyly and awkwardly as he returned the Goggles to their accustomed place around his neck.

"C'mon, we should be gettin' back to the ship..."

~Fin~