S: *It's a bright sunny day and the ocean was crystal clear and beautiful, on the surface of said ocean was a gabite stewring a boat out towards the open waters, now despite being a some sort of aquatic creature, they can't breathe underwater but when he's not afraid of being in the water he can last a while on a single breath of air... they eventually find a spot and park the boat so it doesn't drift away, looking around curiously and nervously...a pair of swimming goggles rest on their forehead*
L: After a while, a big shadow of some kind seems to pass under the boat... And a few seconds later, the head of a sea serpent rises up near the boat, just their head alone being bigger than the gabite! "Um... H-hi..."
S: "Wha-- ahhhhhh!!!! Monster!!!" *the gabite immediately starts up the boat and speeds away in fear*
L: "H-hey, no, it's okay! I'm not gonna hurt you!" The sea serpent stays where they are, hoping that'll help make it clear they don't mean the gabite any harm.
S: *the gabite was already too far away from the sea serpent to hear them, or see them.... they were that scared!*
L: The serpent sighs. "I don't want to scare them again..." They dive back underwater, following where the boat had gone.
S: *the gabite gets to a new location further out and sighs*
"That...that was scary... I hope I don't see that monster again!"
L: This time, the sea serpent keeps a bit of distance as they surface again, and tries raising some of their tail out of the water to wave at the gabite, shyly smiling at them.
S: "Ahhh!! Not the monster again!!!! Get away from me!!!" *the gabite gets ready to speed off again*
L: "I-I'm sorry I keep scaring you, I'm not good at talking to people from the land... Should I just go?"
S: "Of course you should just go!! Get outta here! I don't even wanna talk to you! Your big and mean!"
L: "I'm not mean, I promise... B-but alright, I'll leave you alone..." The sea serpent sighs and starts going back underwater.
S: "Good riddance!" *as the gabite watches the sea serpent go back underwater, they can't help but notice that they weren't as threating as they thought, by now the gabite would have been eaten if the serpent was mean* "W-wait hang on... are you sure your not mean?"
L: Thankfully, the sea serpent happened to hear that, and surfaces again, looking at the gabite. "I'm really not. I wish things like me didn't have that reputation, but so many others just let their power go to their head..."
S: "Hmm..." *deciding to test something, the gabite reaches out their hand to try and touch the serpent, wondering if they actually friendly*
L: The sea serpent moves toward them, slowly so they don't scare them again, allowing the gabite to touch them.
S: *giving the serpent a little rub on their big head the gabite smiles a bit*
"Hey, your not scary... that's surprising..."
L: "See? Just want to be friends! Let me tell you, I've tried a good few times, and you're the only person I managed to calm down."
S: "Oh really? Wow... I really thought you were a big scary monster that was gonna eat me... what kind of monster even are you?"
L: "Well, I'm a sea serpent, like you hear about with really old sailor stories. If there's a more specific name than that, I don't know it, but MY name is Serris. And you probably can't tell, but I'm a guy."
S: "Ah, I'm a guy too... and my name is Grayson, nice to meet you, I guess"
L: "So, judging by the goggles on your forehead, I imagine you were planning on going swimming out here, right?"
S: "Well, yes... I need to get better at the water since I'm still scared of submerging and going in the water sometimes...so I came out here"
L: "Well, hey, I could help you out with that! No one better to help keep you safe in the ocean than someone as big as me, right?"
S: "Heh, well I guess so...but i don't know... I'm kinda iffy about it"
L: "How come? Clearly you know how to swim, and there's nothing dangerous around, so I don't really see what the issue could be..."
S: "Well I may know how to swim, it's just that sometimes I tend to freeze up when I go into the water...plus, I'm not sure I can trust you 100% yet..."
L: "Yeah, I get that something like me is hard to trust... I can keep you on the surface if you freeze up, but there isn't a whole lot I can do about the trust thing."
S: "Yeah like how do I know your not gonna drag me underwater or something like most sea monsters do, cause I get nightmares about that all the time!"
L: "If I'd wanted to do something to you, I could've done it by now. Not to scare you or anything, it's just that... Well, the size difference between us."
S: *Grayson yelps and whimpers*
"Yeah stop trying to scare me! I still don't know how I can trust you"
L: "Y-yeah, sorry, I'm not good at this... Um... Maybe you could try relaxing on top of me for a while? That might help some."
S: "Umm...I mean, I guess if I were to go on top of you and you didn't move a muscle and didn't drag me down, it would help for me to trust you I guess"
L: "Okay! Let's hope this works..." Serris lowers his head down for Grayson to climb onto. "I'll do everything I can to stay still for you."
S: *after being a bit hesitant, Grayson gets onto serris's head and climbs down a bit to get comfortable*
"Whoa... your body is so...warm, and soft"
L: "Is it? I've never really noticed... Glad it's comfortable for you."
S: "It's very comfy... so this is a good sign"
L: "You can stay on me as long as you like. If this is what it takes to really make friends with someone from the land, I don't mind."
S: "Hehe, ok ok...I guess I can trust you a lot then..." *Grayson smiles warmly at serris*
L: "Really? Awesome! I'm so glad you're okay with having me around!"
S: "Yeah, you seem very chill and maybe you'll be able to help me out underwater too"
L: "I think I will, I can go pretty fast and it shouldn't be too hard to hold onto me. If you want to ride me around, I'll leave where to go up to you."
S: "Well, I don't mind where we go...as long as it's not too deep underwater, I'm just not ready for those kinds of depths yet..."
L: "Alright, we can just go a few feet down until you're feeling more confident, does that sound good?"
S: "I suppose that's fine" *Grayson then lowers his goggles over his eyes, making him look cuter*
L: "Ha, those look cute on you! Alright, whenever you're ready, let me know and we'll head under for a while."
S: *Grayson blushes a bit*
"Really? You think my goggles look cute on me? That means a lot from a giant sea serpent like you...heh"
L: "I've always liked the way goggles looked on people, this is the first time I've been able to get a good look at that without scaring whoever's wearing them."
S: "Heh I see, well glad your like them then" *Grayson then starts taking some deep breath to calm down and for air*
L: Serris waits for Grayson to be ready, continuing to stay as still as he can until then.
S: *after a couple more deep breathes, Grayson seems ready and takes a final breath and holds it in, holding tightly to serris and waiting to he submerged*
L: Serris takes a breath as well, and dives under, staying close to the surface as he'd promised.
S: *noticing that serris took a breath confused Grayson, but went along with it*
L: Swimming along just a few feet underwater, Serris looks at Grayson on his back. "If anything catches your eye, let me know and we'll go check it out." Despite the breath before, he seems capable of talking perfectly clearly underwater.
S: *Grayson nods his head and looks around curiously, his cheeks puffed out as he calms down*
L: While the ocean is deep here, Grayson would be able to see the bottom, with quite a few fish around in what seems to be a reef.
S: *Grayson smiles at the deep ocean, looking at all the different kinds of fish, letting small bubbles loose from his mouth*
L: Serris is watching the fish as well, slowing to a stop for now.
S: *Grayson smiles and points towards the reef wanting to get a closer look*
L: "Alright, let's head down, then!" Serris starts going deeper, still keeping a casual pace so Grayson will have an easy time staying on him.
S: *Grayson face is already a bit red, but he's still going strong for the most part*
L: The two get down to the reef, and the fish there seem to be okay with them being around, some coming over to investigate them.
S: *Grayson smiles at a fish, and then pets a particular fish softly*
L: The fish clearly doesn't mind, and stays put so Grayson can keep petting it.
S: "Awwblbl..." *he keeps petting the fish gently, smiling even more*
L: "Yeah, the fish around here are always pretty friendly, even to me!" Serris nuzzles one of them.
S: "Hehble!" *Grayson smiles and keeps petting all kinds of fish and smiling happily*
L: Soon enough, the two have an entire school of fish around them, happily rubbing up against them!
S: "Heblblhehe...thblat tickbles" *he laughs out some bubbles, which makes air drain faster*
L: "Are you doing okay on air? I could make a bubble for you to breathe if you want."
S: "Yeblah, I dblo nebled somble aiblr... soblrry iblm noblt ublsed to bubblbletalblking..."
L: "Alright, here." Serris exhales a little, a large bubble expanding from his mouth, and he nudges it over to Grayson with his head.
S: *Grayson picks up the bubble gently and inhales it, his lungs fully refreshed*
"Thblank you..."
L: "No problem! I can do a few more of those before we have to actually surface again, but we've still got plenty of time."
S: "Hehble!" *he nuzzles serris and smiles happily, enjoying himself*
L: Serris happily nuzzles them back. Gradually, the fish around the two start to disperse again.
S: *feeling adventurous, Grayson points down as he wants to explore even deeper underwater with serris*
L: "Alright, let's go find an even deeper spot..." Serris starts swimming along the seabed, looking for some way to go deeper.
S: *Grayson was a little jealous that serris is able to talk clearly underwater and he couldn't, but he continues to hold o to serris's body as they search for a way deeper underwater*
L: Soon, they find a point where the seabed drops off, the next lowest point beyond where either of them can see. "Well, if we want to go deeper, this is probably our best bet."
S: "Whobla..." *it definitely looked deep, Grayson was a bit unsure if he really wanted to go down there, but his adventurous side of him told him to do it so he nods his head*
L: "Let's do this, then!" Serris begins to swim into the depths, the sunlight gradually fading.
S: *Grayson grunts a bit from the strain of the pressure and holding his breath, he pinches his nose shut as his face is back to being red*
L: "Let me know if the pressure's too much for you, we'll head back up some. I don't mind it myself, I do dives like this all the time."
S: *so far Grayson seems to handle it ok, he's not that uncomfortable...he's just a little uneasy, he keeps his nose pinched and let's out a few bubbles from his mouth*
L: Serris is continuing to go deeper, the light still fading as things start to get somewhat dim. The bottom still isn't in sight.
S: *Grayson's face is now visibly red, but keeps pushing as he wants to get to the bottom, having never been down there before, but the pressure is starting to get to him a little*
L: Thankfully, before the pressure can get unbearable for Grayson, the bottom is finally visible. "Here we are, finally made it."
S: "Yably..." *Grayson's grunts are a but more audible as his face is fully red, his nose still pinched to help ease the pressure*
L: "Alright, let's have a look around down here..." Like before, Serris searches along the seafloor for anything interesting.
S: *Grayson takes a look around too for anything interesting, although he could hardly focus with the amount of pressure he's dealing with*
L: Serris eventually notices Grayson's struggles. "Are you sure you're okay? I don't mind heading back up some."
S: "Imbl fiblne...honblest..." *thats his adventurous self telling serris that..*
L: "Well, if you're sure..." After some more swimming, the two come across a big cave entrance! "Oh, nice! They're not usually big enough to fit me!"
S: "Whobla... mmmm!!!" *grayson's air is now getting too low, his face now blue*
L: "O-okay, yeah, you need air." Serris blows another big bubble for Grayson to breathe in.
S: *Grayson immediately sucks down the bubble and his face returns to a slight red color for now*
"Phblew...thblanks budbldy"
L: "No problem! Gotta make sure you stay as comfortable as possible down here, right?" Serris is starting to blush a tiny bit.
S: "Mmhm" *Grayson swims off of serris and floats in front of him, then gives his giant head a big hug*
L: "Aw, thanks..." Serris adjusts himself to lay part of the end of his tail across Grayson's back in as much of a return hug he can do.
S: *Grayson smiles as he now fully trusts serris, kissing his head before returning to their back*
L: "Alright, let's check out that cave..." Serris starts swimming inside, making sure he won't bump himself or Grayson on anything.
S: *Grayson holds on tight as they explore the cave together, he looks around curiously...now not minding the pressure of the water*
L: While there starts being even less sunlight around, before things can get fully dark the two find glowing algae of some kind lining parts of the walls, letting them see just fine.
S: *Grayson let's some bubbles loose as he looks around the cave for anything else interesting*
L: Serris slowly swims along as he looks for something interesting as well, thankful for the glowing algae but not caring all that much about it.
S: *they get deeper and deeper inside of the cave, eventually coming across a split... they have to decide to continue going left or right*
L: Serris stops to think about it for a moment... But, without either path looking better than the other, he decides to just go left.
S: *that path seemed like a bad choice, there was no lighting down in this path, and it seemed a lot more spooker, however they can't seem to turn back now*
L: With the tunnel being too narrow for him to turn around, Serris quickly starts getting nervous, worrying he's going to get stuck... With no other options, he keeps moving forward.
S: *noticing serris's worry, Grayson speaks up*
"Hbley...isbl evblerything ok?"
L: "I, um... Can't turn around in here. If there isn't more room later in this tunnel, I'm gonna have a rough time getting out..."
S: "Uhbl ohbl..." *now Grayson is starting to get worried, he prays that they'll be more room in the cave soon*
L: Serris keeps swimming forward as best as he can, continually bumping against the walls of the small tunnel.
S: *Grayson also gets bumped around, making air escape from him every time...his face back to being visibly red*
L: Realizing he might not be able to give Grayson air in such a small space, Serris starts trying to be more careful as he progresses through the tunnel.
S: *this continues on for a while, but the space doesn't get any bigger, and to them it feels like it's getting smaller when it's really not*
L: Still having nothing else he can do, Serris just keeps on swimming forward. "You still doing okay?"
S: "Fblor thble moblst pblart..." *Grayson pinches his nose again as his whole face is red*
L: "I hope this isn't too much longer..." Grayson likely wouldn't be able to see it, but Serris' blush is starting to slowly get a bit bigger over time.
S: *after minutes and minutes of swimming, there's still no sign of it getting bigger....yet at least*
L: Serris is beginning to get nervous for Grayson as well, worrying they'll end up drowning before he gets the chance to give them air...
S: "Mmmhlbl!" *but before things could get bad, the cave finally starts to open up a bit more*
L: "O-okay, finally!" Now able to move much more freely, Serris quickly blows another bubble for Grayson to inhale, though it would likely be a little less effective than the others.
S: *Grayson gasps down the bubble, Indeed it was less effective as his face is still red, but it helped a tiny bit*
L: "Th-think I've got another two of those in me at this point... Still plenty of time."
S: "Itbls weblird...yoblur abl sebla serpeblet bblut yblou nebled aiblr?"
L: "Oh, thought you'd figured it out already... Y-yeah, I don't have gills, but I can hold my breath a really long time."
S: "Hmm... hblow lblong?" *Grayson hoped this conversation will help distract his need for more air and the fact he wants to get out of this cave soon*
L: "On average, about 40 minutes... B-but I've gone over a full hour before."
S: "Whobla... coobl... I cblan only manblage aboblout 10 minblutes on avblerge, butbl my reblcord wblas 19 minblutes"
L: "I bet you'll be able to reach 20 minutes someday! Depending on how much practice you've already done, maybe even 25 or 30!"
S: "Thablats tblhe thbling, I doblnt prblactice enblough beblacuse somble daybls iblm scblacred to sublmeblge..."
*all the talking makes grayson's face fully red again, and starting to become blue*
L: "H-here, you're blue again..." Serris puffs out yet another big bubble for Grayson. "W-we should probably get out of here..." His face is entirely red now.
S: *Knowing it's pretty much useless at this point, and knowing he can last a bit longer, Grayson shakes his head no*
"Nblo, keblep it... ibl shblould only gblet iblt whblen I reblally need iblt, I cblan mablange fblor nblow... yoblu stilbll neebld aiblr yblurseblf"
L: "Alright..." Serris quickly sucks the bubble back in. "S-still, we shouldn't stay here much longer..." He puffs his cheeks after saying that.
S: *grayson's cheeks puff out as well*
"Rblight..lblets fiblnd abl wblay oblut, orbl at lbleast an aiblr pocblket"
L: "M-maybe there's air, yeah... J-just a little longer..." Serris keeps on swimming through the tunnel, thinking about when he should double back.
S: *by now Grayson is starting to get worried that this cave is endless and that they won't find an exit...little do they know they are close...and 2 minutes later, the two stumble upon a massive air pocket above them*
L: "O-oh, perfect! There's air!" Serris rushes up into the air pocket just as his face is starting to turn a little blue, and he finally gasps.
S: *grayson climbs off serris and goes up to the air pocket too, gasping heavily...the air in the pocket is actually pretty fresh*
"Finally! Air!! Oh I missed you!"
L: "So lucky this is big enough for me to breathe from... Especially since it means we can explore even deeper!"
S: "Uhhh... yeah I think I don't wanna do that... I've already pushed my body enough... my adventurous side of me wants too, but the real me says no way! Heh..."
L: "Alright, that's fine with me, I can check it out on my own time. We'll head back outside once you're ready."
S: *Grayson looks down at the water below him, shivering a bit*
"...I don't know if my body can handle going back down there... I'm....frightened"
L: "I don't blame you, it's pretty dark in that tunnel... If you'd be okay with me leaving you alone for a little while, I could go back and rub some of that glowing algae on me to light it up."
S: "Well now that I know I can trust you and all that, no I'm not comfortable being left alone here... that is a nice idea tho"
L: "Alright, well... We're gonna have to go eventually... But I guess we can stay here a while, this is a nice little place."
S: "Yeah, and it's full of air...it's fresh too..." *Grayson makes himself cozy in the air pocket space, smiling a bit...deep down inside he's very scared to go back under*
L: Serris relaxes, floating on the surface. "Wonder why the air here is so fresh... Maybe it opens up to the surface somehow? I don't think the algae would be enough for this."
S: "I don't know...but honestly I don't care...air is air, heh"
L: "Either way... Hate to say it, but it's gonna get harder to breathe in here over time. It'll take a LONG time to get there, but we can't stay here forever."
S: "Ugh...I know I know...I just really don't wanna go back down there and push my body again...we are still pretty deep underwater"
L: "Wish there was something I could do... The bubbles I make aren't very durable, so you wouldn't be able to ride inside own, and the only other thing I can think that would keep you out of water is DEFINITELY not something you'd want to do."
S: "Huh? Youve got me intrigued, what is the other thing?"
L: "Okay, I'm certain you're gonna say no and think I'm weird for even suggesting this, but you asked... If I held you inside my mouth, you wouldn't have to be underwater."
S: "Whaaaaa??? ARE YOU NUTS?!?!? Hell no!!! I ain't doing that! Then I'll be worried about getting eaten and I don't want that! So hard pass!"
L: "Y-yeah, I knew there was no way you'd be up for that. We're gonna have to think of SOMETHING, though..."
S: "Well I've got nothing, I don't know what to do... but all I know is if I go back down there it won't be good for my body or my mental health"
L: Serris sighs. "Guess we've got a long time to think about what to do, at least..."
S: "I wish i knew how to teleport, that would make life so much easier.... heh..." *Grayson then tries to think of what to do*
L: "Ha, it really would... All I can really do is blow big bubbles and talk to fish, but neither are really gonna help here..."
S: "Yeah I'm afraid not... I might have to suck it up and just go back down there, but I really don't wanna :("
L: "Do you think there's anything I could do to make this better for you?"
S: "I honestly don't know... usually a cuddle would keep my fears at bay, but your too big...so I can't do that"
L: "Yeah, I'm... A little worried about what might happen if I tried that. Actually, maybe just the end of my tail like earlier? You could try with that."
S: "Well...I gotta try something, so I suppose we can give it a shot"
L: "Alright, here." Serris moves the end of his tail next to Grayson for them to cuddle with, hoping it'll help.
S: *Grayson then hugs serris's tail, nuzzling it and smiling*
"Ahhh... I already feel way better..."
L: "Glad we finally found a way! Take as long as you need, I don't mind."
S: *Grayson keeps cuddling on serris's tail, clearly enjoying himself and getting calmer and calmer, after a while he eventually speaks up*
"Ok...i-i think I'm ready to go now"
L: "Alright, let's do this... Take some deep breaths, and we'll start heading out of here once you're ready."
S: "Aw man..." *Grayson then starts taking some deep breathes, hoping he can calm down long enough for this*
L: "Won't be all that long before we can get back to the lit up part again, don't worry."
S: "Oh I hope so... I'm so nervous to go back down there...."
L: "It's gonna be fine. If anything decides to mess with us, I can deal with them no problem."
S: "Yeah I know...I just hope my body can handle the waters again..."
L: "Well, I'll get you up to the real surface and bring you back to your boat, then you can just head home if you want."
S: "I suppose that's a good idea, ive pushed my body enough already...heh"
L: "Yep, whenever you're ready, I'll get us out of here."
S: *after a couple more deep breathes, Grayson hesitatingly takes a final breath in and holds it, signaling that he's ready*
L: Serris quickly gets a breath as well and dives underwater again, starting to swim back through the long tunnel that had led here.
S: *as Grayson holds his breath again, he let's out some whimpers as his body is submerged again*
L: "It'll be alright, you don't need to worry... We'll be outside in no time."
S: *Grayson closes his eyes and holds onto serris and tries not to think about being underwater, hoping they will get to the exit soon, which they will*
L: Already being a little familiar with the tunnel this time, Serris is more confident and able to get through a fair bit faster than the first time.
S: *after a couple of minutes the two of them finally approach the exit of the cave!*
L: "Here we go, almost out already!" Serris smiles at Grayson, then keeps swimming toward the exit.
S: *they exit and Grayson opens his eyes, but now they are super deep underwater and Grayson is worried about that*
L: "Relax, we'll be up to the surface in no time now." Serris starts swimming up, going faster than in the tunnel since he now doesn't have to worry about hitting anything.
S: *Grayson holds on tight to serris as they shoot upwards, hoping to breathe in fresh air soon*
*his face is only a little red, but knows air will come soon enough*
L: Before too long, the sunlight returns and the surface finally becomes visible again, the two divers soon getting above the water again.
S: *Grayson happily gasps in the fresh ocean air, his boat is still there right where he left it*
"Yes! Finally!"
L: "Good to be back up here, for sure! Guess this is gonna be bye for now, though, once you're back to your boat..."
S: "Yeah...but I promise I'll come back and see you again! I really underestimated your friendliness..." *Grayson climbs off serris and goes back into his boat, he smiles at serris and giggles a bit*
L: "Looking forward to seeing you again! And I bet you'll be even better with water by then!"
S: "With enough practice sure, heh... well, goodbye serris..." *Grayson frowns and leans forward and gently pets serris*
L: Serris carefully nuzzles Grayson. "Bye, Grayson... Hopefully it'll at least be soon that you get the chance to come back out here."
S: "Me too..." *giving a kiss to serris's head, Grayson puts his goggles over his forehead and starts up his boat, soon speeding away back to shore*
L: Serris waves with the end of his tail, before taking a breath and diving once more.
![[RP LOG] Overcoming the challenge](https://va.ib.metapix.net/images80/overlays/writing.png "[RP LOG] Overcoming the challenge"){kind=small}
