The taste and feel of the air here is unique; salty and heavy with moisture, much different than the air back from where she was from. It almost tasted charged, at least right now. Maybe a storm moving in? Whatever the case, the sky was a cloudless, vibrant blue at this moment. And she planned to enjoy every moment of it.
So she was doing so, by finally visiting the tiny dock nestled out of the way that had caused her curiosity to perk up. According to those she had asked, not many people saw fit to visit the area, generally because the stretch of beach it was on was not really enjoyable to spend a length of time on. Too much rock mixed in with the sand.
A good enough reason, well that one along with the stories of odd things that happen at the little dock. Shoes going missing, other articles of clothing being moved or disappearing entirely, strange sounds, people tripping over nothing.
At first, apparently, people had just assumed a bunch of kids were pranking people. That was quickly dismissed when no pranksters could be found despite the best of efforts being made.
So most refuse to deal with it and the little dock stands alone for the better part of time.
Well until now; her curious nature was just too strong to let something like this go and not see if the stories were true.
She really needed to get her reckless streak under control.
But that could wait. She had a path to follow!
The path that had been suggested to her, was a winding length that gently declined until it met soft sand, easily navigable by most. The vegetation along it was fairly sparse and mostly long grasses or shrubs. Still pretty, in its own humble way.
The deep, dark blue that was the ocean, was clearly visible and catching the sun in a sparkling dance. And the little dock was a smidge off to the right of the path, from what she could tell.
It took her less than 5 minutes to travel the entirety of the path, excitement lending her speed. Any other time she'd be chastising herself for not taking in the scenery, but for now there was adventure to be had. And she'd been catching glints of something in the water.
Maybe sunlight. Maybe not.
Either way, exciting.
It occured to her, as she's picking her way over the rock and sand, that she probably should've worn actual shoes and not, you know, flip-flops. It probably would have saved her feet from their current punishment. Ah, hindsight, what a wonder.
She was determined though. And the dock was right there!
Like twenty feet away. Fifteen now.
Oh the way her feet welcomed the solid wood of the dock.
A dock that was surprisingly sturdy and well-maintained despite the signs of weathering.
Huh. That was impressive.
Excitement began to calm into silent curiosity, and her pace reflected it. No longer long, jerky strides, she walked with a slow leisure now. It was nice to just allow herself to be.
The pace was slow enough to allow her ever darting eyes to catch the glint of movement out of the corner of them. Not but a second later the sound of a splash followed. Head quickly snapping in that direction, she freezes mid-step.
Fading ripples and sunlight glinting up from the water.
Shoulders relaxing from their tensed position, she snorted at her own reaction and muttered, "Stupid. Next you're gonna be jumping at your own reflection."
Giving an eye roll, her lips twitch upward in a sheepish smile and her legs unfreeze. It was probably just a fish anyway.
She hoped.
Breath steadying, she made it to the end of the dock with only the rhythmic slap of her flip-flops across the wood adding to the ambient sounds. No more splashes. But from time to time, the flash of something moving in the water would catch her attention.
Pausing at the end for a moment, she stared at the horizon in awe. It extended miles and miles beyond what could be seen, a thin fog captured between dueling blues. It was beautiful.
Sinking slowly to sit, she sliped off her flip-flops and placed them aside, confident that they'd be there when next she looks. Now all she needed to decide was whether or not she wanted to dangle her feet off the edge and into the water.
On one hand, it'd be soothing and refreshing.
On the other hand, it'd be potential death. Okay maybe not death, but it does kind of freak her out not knowing what could be lurking in the clouded water. Especially given those flashes she had seen earlier.
Ah fuck it, why not. She'd come this far. No time to be chickening out.
Long, thin feet draped over the dock's end and toes tentatively dipped into the water. When no immediate threat showed itself, they relaxed and slipped in all the way. The water was just cool enough to be comfortable.
A pro was that the water just barely covered the tops of her feet, so she can yank them back up and have them out quickly if need be. It helped her relax enough to start humming absentmindedly.
Soon she was idly swishing her feet around in small, gentle movements.
Leaning back onto her hands, a relaxed, content smile drifted across her face. She would spend hours here if allowed. It would be so tempting to just lay back and have a quick nap.
She was contemplating just that before a scraping sound caused her to shoot bolt upright and yank her feet from the water.
Curling around her knees, she scooted away from the edge and looked around. There was nothing aside from the rippling water. Yeah, okay she would not be putting her feet back in today. She'd just sit here and enjoy the warmth of the sun and the slight breeze.
With that firmly in mind, the hours passed in relative peace. A few more random noises and one incident of something thumping against the dock were the only things that happened. Her flip-flops were still there when she got up to leave, and nobody appeared to try and prank her.
Maybe those stories had been exaggerated, because every time she visited afterwards, nothing out of the ordinary happened. She'd get occasional glimpses of something red and something gold, but wrote them off as fish or tricks of the light.
So nothing out of the ordinary happened at all.
Until it did.
It had to be her tenth time visiting.
She seated herself where she normally did and draped her legs and feet over the edge into the water. An hour passed, then two before she felt the first brush of something against her feet.
Freezing in place, she waited to feel it again. When nothing happened, she tried to relax back into her routine, though wariness never left her.
Good thing too, because the next thing she knew, something brushed against her feet again. Jumping, she tried to yank them up and out, only to freeze in place when a hand wrapped around her left ankle.
A webbed hand.
Oh shit were those scales!?
A strangled shriek caught in her throat and all she could do was follow where that hand led.
Hysterically, she noted two heads now above the water, one a great deal closer than the other. Both looked nearly human, with the exception of what seemed to be fins flaring out from where a human's ears would be. And a smattering of scales, colored scales.
Oh and the slightly glowing violet-red eyes.
And both were wearing matching smirks, hints of sharpened teeth peeking out. They both looked like they were about to burst into a laughing fit.
So she did the only thing she could.
Hands shooting out, she grabbed her flip-flops and hurled one at each of them. She missed both.
It had the intended effect, though.
The red-scaled one with black fins, slackened his grip on her ankle, too busy laughing at her terrible aim. The golden-scaled one submerged then came back up, amusement seeming to war with offense at her poor attack.
Either way, she immediately yanked herself free and scooted back a foot, fear and a tingle of curiosity warring, keeping her rooted in place.
In response, both shot forward toward the dock. The golden one covered the distance in a blink to join his twin. Both still amused, pulled themselves up onto the dock just enough for them to comfortably prop up on their arms and chests.
Flashing sharp teeth at her in a mischievous grin, the red one reached forward and tweaked one of her toes. "So, what ARE those?"
The only response she gave was a high-pitch squeaked, "Holy shit."