[open] What an absolute whale of a tale

[encourage]

Sakura leaned against the railing at the top of one of the tanks in the new aquarium area, still mystified by the sheer size of what she was seeing. As far as she was concerned, this tank alone was larger than some lakes she'd grown up around, and filled all with saltwater? Not to mention the boat she watched floating by, apparently unmanned and running on goodness knew what.

It was almost peaceful, staring downward into the rippling surface of the water, lights keeping the tank inhabitants in shifting, silvery view. Unlike some other thanks, the creatures in this one weren't largely bright in their coloration, if some of the sea-life on the sides showed promising flashes of oranges, reds, and some blues. Not a tropical tank, if the concept itself was new, but one meant to harbor a larger animal out of a different Earth sea.

The white whale came up now and again to breathe, expelling carbon dioxide and water in a spray that came close to hitting the lighting fixtures dangling far above her head. There was a thrill in seeing that, in watching this somewhat intelligent creature surface, breathe, then dive again, coming closer to the boat that seemed to be floating on the false horizon.

Only the whale seemed to be shifting pattern, diving down as low as it could in the tank and then abruptly angling upward. It was hard to determine what she was seeing, with the refraction of the water, and the lack of clarity provided by the choppy waters of the surface, but Sakura was fairly certain the whale was taking aim at something. Peering out across the surface of the tank, she heard the great white whale break surface and come slamming down on the boat just as a much smaller, daintier "plish" of water reached her ears.

She looked down, catching sight of her omnicomm as it started to sink beneath the choppy surface of the water, and said something not meant for polite company.

Then with a white whale rampaging at a boat on the far end, Sakura pulled herself up to the top of the railing and dived down into the cold water, intent on rescuing her omnicomm before it dropped down out of reach.

[ ooc: Set in the Aquarium area, Sakura's going diving for her own property in the Moby Dick tank. Point and laugh? Watch whale shenanigans? Threadjacking welcomed with open arms. ]

Comments

[encourage]

"Like you have a right to talk about fashion sense. My vest is practical, and it holds more sensible things than you ever willingly choose to in your head half the time." Sakura nudged him with her heels again, this time purposely just to be a jerk, patting the top of his melon with the back of the hand holding her omnicomm. "You've got such a nice brain, when you want to use it."

[livestoannoy]

<Yes Barbie, tell me about how practical it is. That will surely convince me that it's actually the height of fashion,> Marco said, sarcastic. <And fine, I'll go get your stupid vest.>

[encourage]

"My hero." In a fit of pique, she pressed a kiss to his melon, and then let go. Sakura wasn't sold on her own ability to keep up and properly hold on if Marco was semi-serious about retrieving her vest. She couldn't artificially boost her flagging resources anymore, and she reluctantly acknowledge that her body was saying she needed to conserve what she could just in case.

For his part, Moby continued to dive downward, turning enough to eye them both at the surface.

[livestoannoy]

<Hey, you're supposed do that when I'm not morphed, remember?< Marco said, before turning around to dive down and go after that vest.

And if he accidentally-on-purpose splashed Sakura in the process, well, that was a bonus.

[encourage]

Lips salty, mouth salty, Sakura dragged her sopping wet self up to the surface of the water, protesting indignantly at the unnecessary splash before Marco disappeared. He was gone too fast for a retort, not that hers was particularly inspired.

Talking to the tank at large, she muttered, "At least you can't drool when you're a dolphin," then smirked for her own amusement.

She pulled herself up on the walkway, taking up a seat on the rail and waiting to see what Marco would do. Moby followed along after him, or so she thought, considering he was large and white and easy to track, and Marco was much harder.

[livestoannoy]

If only Marco had actually been able to hear Sakura, he would have retorted with a witty reply. As it was, he was instead swimming along the bottom of the tank, once again echolocating until he found the vest.

The vest was a bit tricker to pick up, but eventually he managed to slip it over his nose and head back to the surface. To find that this time, he was the one face to face with a whale. <Woah, hey there Moby.>

[encourage]

Moby hung there, unmoving, considering Marco. Then he brushed by suddenly, with a powerful push of his tail, angling around and back toward some point in the distance with surprising speed.

He might have wanted Marco to come with him, or perhaps he didn't. Sakura watched from the surface, resting her chin on her crossed arms. She wondered what that was about, really. "Where's he off to -- oh. Not the boat again."

[livestoannoy]

<Wait, didn't he already destroy that? How is it there again?!> Marco said, confused.

Man, was this ship ever anything but weird?

He didn't follow Moby though, instead swimming back to Sakura. Swimming around with this vest on his nose was awkward enough, he wanted it off.

[encourage]

She spotted him coming up to surface, and smiled, amused at the image he made. She'd been moving all over this railing, and this time she got up and flipped herself off it again to help him out.

"Thank you," she said, sliding her vest off his face. "Want a lift back up when you're demorphed?"

[livestoannoy]

<Show off,> he said as he started to demorph. When he was almost human he started trying to climb back up.

Okay, so maybe some help would be useful. "And now you just want to rub it in, don't you?"

[encourage]

"Marco," she said, voice dropping low in disapproval as she walked over. "You're mistaking me for you, now, really."

She was already in her waterlogged flak vest, and amused, as well as grateful. "Is that a yes?" Because with that, she would offer him a leg up, much kinder than tossing him over her shoulder and making it all look ninja effortless.

Even if part of her wanted to.

[livestoannoy]

"...Maybe."

[encourage]

Rolling her eyes, Sakura offered Marco a leg up (more of a hands up, locking her fingers together and bracing herself so that when he put his foot into her hands, she could lift him up to get a good grip on the lower parts of the railing). "Maybe. Maybe, he says."

[livestoannoy]

With Sakura's help, Marco clambered up until he was standing back on the boardwalk again.

"So, now that I've rescued your precious omnicomm and vest," Marco started, smirking at her. "What are you going to give me in return?"

[encourage]

"The finger?" she said, not sounding all that serious as she joined him back on solid footing. "A nice thank you? Your clothes are down over there, I tired to keep them away from the water. Or where you'd dropped them. Do you fold anything?" Clucking her tongue, she made to move by him, half hiding a smirk.

[livestoannoy]

"You could give me a really nice thank you," he said, stepping closer to her and grinning. "The kind where I don't need my clothes just yet."

[encourage]

"You won't be needing them for a while," she pointed out. "Not unless you enjoy walking around sopping wet."

She leaned closer, hooking an arm through his. "Let's go find somewhere to dry out."

[livestoannoy]

Marco grinned, and didn't need any further prompting to start leading Sakura out somewhere where Stacy shouldn't be able to see them.