By the Sea, From the Sea, To the Sea
The cold, clear ocean water sliced through Riptide's gills as he took a deep breath. He swam slowly, at leisure, wanting to prolong the moment as long as possible.
Today, he left the ocean behind for good.
After Queen Coral kicked him out, he had flown almost directly inland; but after a while, he began to pine for the saltwater, and the Talons had allowed him a quick visit to the ocean, provided he didn't get caught, and that he never visited again.
He already missed it.
But, alas, time never stops its flight for anyone, and Riptide cast one more longing glance around before readying his wings for the single upward push that would shove him out of the ocean's cold embrace...
He never got there.
Halfway through his thrust, he collided with something very large, very solid, and very... dragon. The dragon he slammed into whirled around, teeth bared, and Riptide flared out his wings in a panic, ready to escape.
But all thoughts of escape flew out of his head when he saw who it was.
Treading water before him, the anger fading slowly out of her eyes, was Tsunami.
If possible, Tsunami was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her deep blue scales shimmered like gemstones underwater, the glow patterns dappling her scales letting off a slight shine. Her wing strokes were strong and sure, muscles rippling along her shoulders as she swam. Her glittering aqua eyes shone with surprise as she gazed intently at Riptide, mouth open slightly in disbelief.
Riptide swallowed hard, then carefully flashed a message at her.
Hi.
Tsunami grinned and flashed a message back. Hey, squid-brain.
How...?
Tsunami pointed a claw at the surface of the water. Talk later. Swim now.
Well, it was garbled, but Riptide got the gist of it.
He pushed forward through the water after Tsunami, suddenly not minding leaving the ocean.
They surfaced in the middle of a growing storm. Tsunami glanced back at him, then gestured at a small chain of islands close by, indicating that they should land.
Riptide flew ahead and nudged Tsunami lightly with one wing, pointing to a small island that he knew had good shelter. He'd been caught out in a storm one too many times than he'd liked.
Tsunami tucked her wings in and dove, the storm's howling winds masking any sounds she might have been making. Riptide paused, then followed her, the air screaming past his ears.
He landed with a thump in the small dark cave, barely a tail-length from Tsunami. The two dripping dragons stared at each other for a second, then rushed forward and embraced, apparently not noticing the cold ocean water running off their scales.
"I missed you," Tsunami said fiercely. "The RainWings are all ditzy pile of fish entrails."
Riptide laughed. "Fish entrails, huh? I guess that doesn't say much about my company."
Tsunami punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Stop it. I need at least one dragon I can boss around without having them flap off for mangoes."
Riptide smiled and gazed out at the mouth of the cave, where the storm raged with no intention of stopping. "I guess we're trapped."
"Yep."
"Until the storm passes."
"Uh-huh."
There was a pause. "Funny, I don't seem to mind very much. Do you?"
"Not really, no."
The two SeaWings sat in silence for several long minutes, apparently not noticing (or caring) that their wingtips were touching.
Then Tsunami turned to Riptide. Her turquoise eyes glittered with something that looked like mischief. "We never did finish our Aquatic lessons."
Riptide gazed at her, entranced. "Nope."
"Well, now's as good a time as any." Tsunami got up and stretched her wings. "Teach me how to say, 'Get off my tail!' in Aquatic."
Riptide smiled and whispered, "By the sea, from the sea, to the sea."
"What?"
"Nothing. Just an old SeaWing saying."
They practiced then, their eyes never leaving the other's as their glowing stripes lit up the cave with a soft blue radiance and the howling storm raged on.