Welcome to Gaia! ::

Joshua feign disappointment when Katalina said "aides from now." But he quickly returned to his elated state. "I'm ready whenever you're willing." He wondered what kind of sea folk she would take him to. It seemed she was a loner, so maybe something other than merfolk? It didn't matter to Joshua. Whatever she chose was plenty good for him. He cast a glance at his gauges. "Though, if we're going too far, I'll have to change my tank."

Joshua looked confused. "How would I know who to start with? I'm trusting your judgment here. Pick one that has a less that 50% chance of eating me please." He spoke jokingly, making light of that fact that there was real danger. "So if you pick someone nearby we can leave right now! If it's a little farther out, then I need to switch tanks, then we can go!" If she was willing to take him, Joshua wanted to go as soon as possible.

"Yay!" Joshua knew he sounded like a child, but he didn't care. He was going to meet others! He darted out from the cloud of fish and headed towards land. When he reached the shallow waters, he pulled off the flippers, allowing him to walk properly. Joshua dashed up the beach, spaying sand everywhere. As fast as he possibly could, his tank was switched out and replaced. All the while, the huge grin never left his face. Joshua headed back towards the waters.

Katalina awaited both Joshua's return and Lucian's answer, turning over lazily in the water. She noticed the girl's friendliness towards Lucian and smiled vaguely - nice humans were less of a rarity than she'd imagined. She just wanted to swim out, talk to a friend, and if Joshua were with her...well, what was the harm? Kra wouldn't hurt him.
Probably.

Katalina watched him come towards her, and thought to Lucian, Last chance to join us. We're off now.
"Okay," she told him. "We're going a long way out. If you get tired, just let me know and we'll take a break near one of the islands."
That said, she turned and began swimming out towards the open ocean.
"Follow me!" she called over her shoulder.

Katalina glanced dubiously at him. "Are you all right?" she inquired, noting his incredible excitement. Perhaps this had been a bad idea. She also thought that he was slackening a little, but that wasn't so bad. The burst of adrenalin might have worn off by the time they met Kra, then. If not, it was quite possible that Kra would find a way to hide from them...though how anyone of his enormous bulk could do that, Katalina wasn't quite sure.

Katalina accepted this with a slight nod. She continued forwards, easily keeping pace with Joshua. Risking a quick glance back, she saw that the shoreline was long gone. How long had they been swimming? She didn't think it had been that long.

"It was not," a low voice rumbled from deep beneath the water, seeming to answer her thoughts. "I like to make travel easier on my guests."

Slowly, what had looked to just be part of the ocean floor began to heave itself upwards, revealing an enormous dent that it had been resting in. Tentacles unwound slowly, and as it shook itself free of the sand, it grew only slightly less massive. "Is this your young human friend, Sorry?"

Katalina's first choice for Joshua's initiation into underwater society was a Kraken.

She turned to Joshua. With a hint of a smile, she said, It is. Joshua, meet Kra. Kra, Joshua.

Katalina's giggle was almost lost in Kra's slow rumbling. Despite the fact that the sound was terrifying, it was only his laugh. "Or consider, rather, that you are very small," he said. Extending one tentacle, he touched the top of Joshua's head with it very lightly. "I am Kra. I bid you welcome, Joshua, friend of Sorry."

Katalina sank without reservation until she was sitting on one of the Kraken's many arms. She wasn't worried. Apparently they hadn't found him in an irritable mood, which could sometimes be a difficulty. He'd never done any worse than smack her away with one arm, but that might be more painful for Joshua than it was for her.

Any questions? she teased Joshua.