EIGHT YEARS OLD TO THE DAY // baby in the ocean

WHEN I WAS ONLY TWELVE YEARS OLD

MY PARENTS WENT WALKING

I HATE THOSE WICKED WORDS THEY'D SAY

Everything had grown exceedingly loud.

Quiet had it begun, a soft murmur beneath thoughts he may deem originated from himself without need to contest. The passage of time unkind in such regards, arisen volume with with minute collected, the hours lost until he grew silent with unwelcome company speaking in ringing tones through his head. Silence had been given, visited upon in dreams mind wove from fatigued imagination, brought low in sickness and thus no room left for the voices. He had known peace for a few days, the irregular intervals of waking between his induced sleep blissful, similar his semi-discharge from the care of Vaas.

A fragile thing is a time of peace, however, and begun again those gentle whispers, edging along his own thoughts intertwined until he could not tell them apart. Even calm the tide chased each intrusive presence away for a time, overpowering the constant noise, an end of each wave signified with a thunderous crash. Once more child lingered upon the shore, beyond the tide where it lapped at sodden grains, chilled beneath the spray all the same. Forth ears angled, welcome the ceaseless sound interspersed with harsh cries, aloft held various seafaring birds in migration or otherwise indulging in the feast the ocean offered them.

Others present, their own desire to pluck from the depths unaware fish driving them into frigid depths, utilised a time before winter brought with it unwelcome surprises. Already the snow had begun to fall once more, the terror of such as of yet still present in some, the ice as of yet staved off, soon it would come and made treacherous the ocean. After them did Foam peer, recalled his own few times within the tide, more basic the want he mah indulge.

To paws did he move, for a moment standing before tentative steps drew him closer, a snicker drawn from lips shifting into a smile as he recalled Dovah and his incident. Eclipsed that moment as Hailpaw drew forth into mind, a child as he was than, welcoming of his presence as he allowed Foam a ride in the low tide. Broken that before him now, memories washed away as the chill penetrated short coat, numbed skin that seemed to almost burn as he backpedalled. Lips contouring, annoyance painted against soft visage of silver and ivory, at edge taken up short pacing, miniscule prints blurred together as attention fixed on offending brine.

His focus is such unknown how path shifts, distance closed until toes are brushed, retreat once more forcing the water back. Still grew Foam as he watched the departure, met the rise once more, frigid still but held his position, balanced with single paw submerged. Against the grains pressed in pull-back, joined by next. Slow the progress, further into the surf drawn with each pass the tide made, teeth chattering when finally belly was grazed.

Thought accustomed to the low temperature chin drifted downward, the contact between it and water was brief, however, broken with a sudden upward jerk. Pout drawn along mouth, dragged down brows into a gentle furrow, propelled by irritation paws that slapped at the shifting surface. Hit by the subsequent spray still was he left before laughter erupted, forward bouncing, along the wet grains not quite finding purchase. Panic ensued as ground was departed, outward legs stretching, striking the water once more and hitting the sand below. His close proximity to the shoreline saving grace, yet such close call seemed only a minor setback. With nothing left to stop him below the water was head ducked, at least in part as the salt invaded his nostrils and forced him up once more. Such proven a bad idea chin was submerged, body likewise as he began to creep along, evidently very visible but believed a perfect mimic of any predatory animal that resided in the much deeper portions.

code by Reggan

RHINESTONESTAR ❝ RHINE ❞ LEGATE
"TALKING" || "TELEPATHY"

In a way, Foamkit delving into the ocean was a big event for Rhinestonestar, who couldn't deny the pride that he felt over it. After all, the legate had always considered himself to be a master of the aquatic prey division, and he had only gotten that way because of his affinity towards the sea. Even when he had been just a child, he had been eager to throw himself into the waves, and allow the water to rush over his ruddy fur. Nowadays, swimming was significantly more difficult. He had to grow used to the fact that he couldn't dive down as deep, or for as long, into the water as he had previously. His eyes prevented those old escapades, bloody gaze burning and stinging unpleasantly whenever the pressure came to be too much. It didn't entirely prevent him from going out and hunting – thankfully, since he thinks he would go insane without the touch of the deep blue waves – but it did make everything harder. He needed to be more careful, and go out on shorter trips. In a couple of cases, he needed to take a few immunes with him in order to have them dive for the deeper fish, while he went after the ones that were higher up. Although, those incidents were infrequent, since a pack of warriors in the water often drove the fish away quickly.

In another way, Foamkit being in the ocean was a massive source of stress for Rhinestone. After all, Foam was very much a son to him at this point, and while the sea was beautiful, it also presented endless dangers. The deep blue's riptide could easily grab Foamkit and drag him out to the deeper part of the water, where he was liable to sink, and drown. Alternatively, a strong enough wave could bring in an unsavory and predatory fish, ready to chomp down on the poor child that got tossed close enough to it. Those, plus many other untold threats that lurked within the waves, were what drove Rhine closer when he noticed the top of Foamkit sticking out of the water, his heart suddenly hammering in his chest. He didn't want the anxiety that came with the thoughts in his head, but he couldn't help it. He worried similarly for all of his groupmates, and that was part of what made him such a good leader. However, Foamkit's young age did make him more vulnerable to threats, even if the other was growing at a surprising – and vaguely upsetting – rate. It wouldn't be too long until Foam was an apprentice, and Rhinestone wouldn't be able to watch over him every second of the day, particularly when whoever was chosen to mentor him was teaching him to swim in the deeper waters.

Once Rhinestonestar found himself at the edge of the water, he momentarily hesitated, blue paw pressed down against where sand met sea. He wanted to go into the water with Foamkit, but he also didn't want to upset the other. Nor did the legate want to accidentally irritate his eyes, leading to another unfortunate event that would leave him hopeful up in camp. However, his hesitation was only momentary. Foam's safety came before everything else, and as far as the serval was concerned, the boy needed some sort of life guard around, just to make sure nothing went wrong. So, taking a deep breath inwards, Rhine took several long strides into the water, lowering himself and letting the sea soak his belly, and his legs. As he grew closer to Foamkit, he spoke in a friendly and affectionate tone, "Hey there, Foam. It's good to see you out here. Are you practicing your swimming for when you're an apprentice?" He tried to keep things casual, hoping that the child wouldn't catch onto the fact that Rhinestone was out here to watch over him.

tags + roleplayed by stilly + the palm glades

? TO FREEDOM AND WHISKEY —

Jamie had anxiety over the ocean for different reasons. Where he was from, the ocean presented untold dangers. The waves could knock you off course, carrying you away to a distant land. Just such an event had happened to the fox, and his wife. His wife who was no longer around, who would likely never stop searching for him. The waves had knocked their boat to shreds, sweeping them, and the few lucky survivors of their crew, onto the shores of a land he did not know.

As such, he was less afraid of swimming than he was of boats. Sea sickness was something that took hold over him every time he dared step on one of those forsaken things. Acupuncture being the only cure. The male waded into the water, having left his plaid upon the shore. Bare chested, exposed feeling, Jamie pushed with powerful legs until he hovered near the others. "Swimming is the easy part. Aye, it's boats that are the problem."

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px white; font-size: 24px;"]— JAMIE

#psychosocial.