The two of them swam further down the rocky beach, away from the town and reached a shallow pool of almost clear water. Which caught Peridot by surprise as now she could admire Lapis entirely. She watched the fluid movements of her tail, the sun shining down on the scales, making her glow. It was a breathtaking sight. Lapis came to a stop in front of her and she realized she had been staring. She quickly swam beside her and was amazed.
Through the clear water she could see the bottom, decorated in coral. She knew there was a Coral Reef down in Florida, but never knew there was one here. There was a lot of Staghorn Coral, with some Elkhorn Coral and Lettuce Coral spread throughout. And she was even surprised to find a few large Clubbed Finger Coral closer to shore. She'd never seen them up close before, only photos online.
"This is amazing Lapis !" She exclaimed, not even looking up. The sight was so enchanting to her. She wished she had thought about diving gear before coming back out. At least goggles and a snorkel. She swam back and forth, studying the Coral as best she could. Lapis watched, somewhat amused by her friend's interest.
Peridot carried on studying the coral for a while, having completely lost track of reality. There were so many species of Coral she hadn't had time to study before, she wished she had a camera to document them. She wasn't an artist, but the colors down there were amazing. She wondered if Lapis lived in a similarly colorful area. Almost as if on cue, Lapis swam beneath her, almost touching the coral below. She watched as she masterfully danced around, elegant and precise. She felt somewhat peaceful. She then had an epiphany and almost let out a tear. This wasn't just a crush. She was truly falling for her. She was falling in love.
Her conclusion had stunned her, she needed to sit down, calm herself, think. Maybe even document what was happening to her. She thought she was a stranger to feelings, that logic ruled her mind, that she wasn't like weak-minded people, but clearly she was. She was human after all. She hated the lack of control. So she just let herself float with the occasional movement, watching the beautiful spectacle below. Entranced.
After a few minutes, Lapis surfaced, met with a blushing Peridot staring at the sea floor below. She watched her somewhat confused and bemused, tilting her head slightly, as if it'd helped her understand. After a few seconds she smiled.
"Peri ?" She tried, trying to help her snap back to reality. Peridot mechanically raised her head parallel to the water and slowly turned towards Lapis. "You ok ? You get lost in your thoughts a lot. Must be busy in there." She raised a brow and laughed, only making Peridot more embarrassed with the situation. "You sure its nothing i can help with ?"
Peridot was taken aback by her sincerity. She was too perfect. She had so many amazing qualities that she could list them for days. Honest, understanding, trustworthy, thoughtful, considerate, good-natured, warm, kind and friendly... She had yet to find any negative qualities about her, maybe naivety, but even then, was that truly negative ? She scolded herself. Of course naivety was negative, when your naive you get stepped on and used. Her heart hurt thinking about Lapis being used and hurt.
"N-no it's fine, i just over think things, a lot. All the time." She coughed, trying to change the direction of the conversation. "Anyway, this is some beautiful coral."
"I'm glad you like it, its one of my favorite spots close to shore. My favorite being our spot, of course."
She almost choked. Ok, that was gay, she thought to herself. "R-really ? That's cool." She tried to play it off, but knew she was messing things up. "Our spot's cool. Pretty cool yeah. I like the uhm... Rocks. I mean, the shape they have is caused by erosion which is pretty interesting, nature is amazing really, so many variables yet still remaining fairly predictable to a certain point. Like, uhmm, those rocks are sedimentary, formed by the deposition, alteration and or compression, and lithification of weathered rock debris, chemical precipates, or organic sediments. The process in which they're produced is- "
"Peri..."
Peridot continued detailing the process in which sedimentary rock form, trying to block out her thoughts the only way she knew: repeating facts and information she knew till she could calm herself down. But this time it was taking longer than usual, it wasn't working. She couldn't think. She thought about rock formation and then Lapis, she thought about the periodic table and then Lapis, she thought about Electrike's stats, then Lapis. She started hyperventilating as her heart raced, feeling discomfort in her chest. It wasn't working. Her only comfort wasn't working. She started to feel sick as she felt herself tremble in the water. A panic attack, she realized, perfect timing.
"Sh..ore ?" She mumbled, barely able to form a word. Worried, Lapis swooped her up and rapidly swam to their spot, helping Peridot up onto land. She was uncomfortably sat on her knees, leaning forwards, propping herself up on her arms. She needed to find a way to calm down. She had to relax, but she was having a hard time calming her breathing. It'd been far too long since she'd had one on this scale. "I'm fine, everything's fine. I'm fine, everything's fine." She repeated to herself, over and over. She squeezed her eyes shut and she painfully tried to force herself to slow her breathing. "I'm fine, everything's fine."
Lapis watched, not knowing what to do or where to put herself. She didn't understand what was happening. She had suddenly started speaking her gibberish about rocks and then started choking ? or panicking ? She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but was incredibly worried.
After a few minutes of whispering to herself, Peridot had managed to somewhat calm herself down, slowing her breathing and her the pounding of her heart. She slowly sat down, her knees red from the pressure against the rocks. She looked to Lapis, to see her eyes wide, questioning and worried.
"Sorry, " She apologized "...I sometimes get panic attacks, I should have told you. I'm sorry for making you worry."
"What's a... Panic attack ?"
"A panic attack is a sudden overwhelming feeling of acute and disabling anxiety... Basically i panic over something silly. I can usually stop it before it goes too far, but it didn't work this time."
She pulled herself up onto the rock beside Peridot, splashing her legs slightly in the process and held her hand tightly. "I'm glad your ok. If there is anyway I can help next time, please tell me." She felt her heart racing again and put a hand to her chest, pressing it against herself. It wasn't the same type of fast beating, this wasn't panic, but it still hurt nevertheless. It suddenly eased as she felt a thumb softly rub the dorsum of her hand. "Peri... You need to think less and speak more. I can't know what your thinking about, and I can't help."
"That..." Lapis looked at her confused. She followed her gaze down to her hand. "That helps."
