Wading

Hippocampus - water

The azure plane that lay before Hippocampus' astonished eyes was something entirely new to him. The soft white foam that brushed the sand in repetitive motions reminded him vaguely of the end of the waterfall, but he couldn't barely make the comparison with how it caressed the shoreline.

"This is the ocean," his guide told him, "No one knows how big it is but it's definitely bigger than both islands combined." Hippocampus turned to Kaiwi in disbelief.

"What do you mean? It just goes on forever?" he asked incredulously.

"As far as we know," the raptor shrugged, "Not even the strongest fliers have found the other side of it, and the swimmers say there's a big wall of treacherous tides that stops them from going further. It could be completely infinite." His voice was wistful as he stared out onto the horizon and Hippocampus couldn't blame him. The idea of something so vast, it was frightening and exhilarating at the same time. At the very least he wanted to investigate the shallows.

"Can we go closer?"

"Of course we can, just remember"

"Don't drink the water, I remember," Hippocampus interrupted impatiently. Kaiwi had been firm on this point before they had even left the dome this morning, something about the salty ocean water made it poisonous to drink, so unlike the fresh clear water found everywhere in Atlantis. The Ovi had to make a wholehearted promise not to drink it, no matter how curious he might be before Kaiwi agreed to take him to the beach.

The sand shifted under his feet as they descended to the waterline. It felt unsteady but he didn't mind, it was only getting him to the water faster. Ever since he had hatched he'd held a fascination for the water, drawn to the streams and ponds of Atlantis like no other Oviraptor seemed to be. Before Kaiwi could stop him, he plunged into the water, shocked at how cold it was and ducking his head under to adjust faster. He squinted against the salty water and nearly gasped in astonishment, catching himself just in time to avoid inhaling a lungful. The light of the afternoon sun passing through the water illuminated the sand underneath him with pale rippling patterns in vast webbing networks. He looked down to double check and there it was, the same patterns decorating his legs, and now his back too as the light caught him in its rays. He watched the ripples pass over him as the tide pushed and pulled for as long as he could before his lungs felt like they were going to burst and he had to surface.

"There you are!" A voice came from the sand immediately, breaking through the muffled ambience of the underwater haven, "Thought you'd run in and drown yourself instantly!" Kaiwi was still standing on the sand, tapping his foot in annoyance. Hippocampus couldn't be bothered to apologise, still reeling from the sight below the surface. 

"It's so beautiful!" he managed to call out eventually. The raptor's face softened and he sighed, losing the irritated stance.

"It is!" he called back, "Just be careful okay? That tide can grab you when you least expect it!" That was enough to make Hippocampus look downward, suddenly nervous of this living water that 'breathed' in and out around him. Kaiwi was right, he could feel the motion pulling him like a flowing stream. He had been cautioned against the steep, narrow streams of Atlantis that held a deadly current under their surface as they funneled wide rivers into their slender passes. No one who had fallen into that stream had ever managed to escape the undercurrent. The water was as beautiful as it was dangerous, and it seemed that held true for the water above the surface. Hippocampus had spent long hours staring out through the gap in the dome tiles where you could see the barest hint of the ocean. Occasionally a large shadow passed over but it was mostly a serene blue that remained still above him. Now, sitting in it, he could feel how frequently it actually moved, never once sitting still. He tread water for a while before ducking back under again, looking further out into the water to try and see more. It trailed off gently, a slope that gradually led deeper and deeper into the water until it levelled out in a flourishing flowerbed of branching corals. Fascinated by the thought of ocean plants, Hippocampus swam out a little further to look at them some more. He didn't trust himself to survive diving down to touch them, but the blue tint of the water and sky did little to dull the vibrant pinks, reds and yellows of this bizarre little garden. He rose back to the surface, where Kaiwi was anxiously watching for his return.

"The plants are beautiful down here!" he yelled, sputtering around the wave that hit his face as he spoke.

"I'll try and find someone who knows more about that, 'cause honestly, no idea what you're talking about buddy," Kaiwi yelled back, laughing.