Suprises at the Coast

Veronica sighed as she stopped at the coast. It had taken risk, unplanned decisions and a whole lot of bad luck to get her where she was right now. Going through a portal to another world was simple enough but going through to explore then losing her way due to an attack not part of the plan. After her arrival she was scared off by a phoenix and ran.

In the end she had reached the coastline... which was nowhere near her route home. The only positive to this endless journey was that she had gather a lot more information than planned. Veronica sighed as she took out the map she had borrowed (stolen) from a local sales person.

"Well standing here won't get me anywhere." Veronica muttered t herself and decided to rent a boat. The fastest way to the city, Shya-ko, was by boat, and she hoped this nightmare would end soon. She leapt on her ship and soon found herself gentle moving across the water.

Veronica was relieve she had finally caught a lucky break. The wind was (thankfully) blowing in the right direction and the sail she had was pulling her ship at a quite pace. Attempting to relax, Veronica looked into the depths of the sea. The water was understandable, hard to see through because of the waves but she could make out faint shapes underneath the surface. It was particular shape that caught her interest. It seemed to following her and was easily keeping pace with her small sailboat.

Her interest in the shadow came at a price however. The waves had grown slightly choppy and thus in Veronica attempt to examine the shadow, the sailboat bucked sending her overboard. Her equipment was still in the boat, Veronica realized as the cold water engulfed her. All thoughts disappeared from her mind aside from the need to return to the surface.

Panic was the first emotion she felt as something grabbed her legs as she blindly trying to swim. The second was surprise as was literally launched from the water and landed in her small boat with solid thud. The impact, as one would imagine, winded her and she struggled to regain her breath, both from being underwater and having the air knocked out of her. After getting her breathing under control and wiping the water out of her eyes, she dropped the sail allowing for her boat to come to a gentle stop. She walked to the side hesitantly, pistol in hand, to try and find the shadow again.

Veronica scanned the water for the shadow, but it had disappeared. It wasn't a trick however as something had threw her out of the water. May it saw her struggling and attempted to help making it a possible friend. On the flip side, it could have tried to throw her as a warning thus making it a potential enemy. Regardless it meant this creature was intelligent, more so that simply eating anything that got too close. And if the creature was intelligent it could be watching her right now. She slowly turned and as suspected saw what appeared to be a woman floating in the water. If it were hostile, Veronica would probably not have been able to find her so Veronica hoped the woman was friendly.

"Hello, my name is Veronica...thanks for helping me."

Veronica waited for an answer only to be greeted in silence. The woman, if she could be called that, had revealed that she was not human at least from what Veronica could see. It slightly unnerved Veronica as Nami continued to stare at her. Maybe there was a gap in language? She had been warned about this. But how to go about a method of communication... She could point to herself and say 'Veronica' but that could be misinterpreted as humans be refereed to as Veronica's. She slipped the pistol into its holster seeing no need for it now. She slowly approached Nami and held out a hand, unsure how the woman would react.

Veronica was happy to say the least she wasn't grabbed and pulled under the waves. That kind of knee-jerk reaction would probably not be appreciated. Veronica walked to the other side of the boat keeping an eye on the mermaid, if that is what she was. It only seemed to be interested in her. She could raise he sail and leave but that would serve little purpose. She dipped her hand in the water, wondering what was under the surface. She would dive in but her armor was heavy and stripping to her...undergarments was not the most optimal choice of swimwear.

Veronica recoil her hand more out of surprise than disgust. It made send that everything was smoother in the water but even the tongue was a bit creepy. What else did the underwater world provide? Veronica had doubts about jumping head first into the water but she would at least try to learn a bit. It was her assignment after all. So she stood up and slowly dropped the anchor in the hope her boat wouldn't drift away. She striped herself of her weighted armor and stopped second guessing her option. She could go into the water fully clothed but have not dry clothes for her return, as the sun would dry her clothes if she left them on the boat. Or be logical and throw away her shame.

Hoping to whatever gods that be that no one would take steal her clothing, she quickly slipped out of her clothes, leaving only her undergarments on. Feeling thoroughly embarrassed she quickly slipped on the diving googles on the ship, she carefully jumped off the side of the boat and landed in the water.

Veronica looked at the bubble in wonder. Was it filled with oxygen? How did a mermaid filter oxygen from the water? Or did they need to come to the surface like some aquatic mammals? The biggest question was why it came from the mermaids chest or more accurately breasts. She shook her head, different creature meant different body. There was a good probability that mermaids did not need to nurse their young. With trepidation she slipped the bubble over her head. The contents was indeed oxygen and there seemed to be plenty for a short swim underwater. With that in mind Veronica dove down into the depths of the water to see what was in store for her.

Veronica was speechless. The world around her was beautiful. As opposed to the surface the water was clear and easy to see through. The reef look like it was from a painting as she watched as a group of fish swam by completely ignoring her presence. Did they have no fear or were they not as smart? The canyon was also interesting. The deep darkness was almost like a warning and by the way the mermaid avoided it, that could be true. Veronica dove deeper careful to avoid damaging the reef. She reached out a hand, feeling the smoothness of the structures. She looked back to Nami who simple swam nearby watching her reactions.

What else could she reveal to Veronica? In an attempt to communicate she brought her hand to her mouth. She mimicked biting into an object hoping to find out a source of food for these people. Hopefully the message wasn't taken the wrong way. Veronica could only imagine how the mermaid would react if her action was taken as a threat.

Veronica shook her head. She had never had the best relationship with animals. Dogs always barked when she tried to pass them. Cats always hissed and attempted to scratch her if she managed to get too close. Even the half-humans, like the fox girl, hated her for some reason or another. Though to be fair it probably wasn't from animal dna. She was afraid to find out what a wolf would do if they met. So, Veronica shook her head. She knew that if attempted to it would probably end badly, or the outcome would be disappointing. She then put her hands together in a sort of plea asking to continue on their journey in the watery depths.

Veronica tried to allow them to touch where they wanted but still shied away from it. It was as if she was a specimen, not a visitor. The poke and licked and grabbed and Veronica was very tempted to return to her boat. Maybe it was just that way on the sea floor, they touched instead of observed and licked instead of talked.

But when one of the wandering hands got too close to her breasts, Veronica recoiled, shaking her head fiercely. They seemed to get the message and backed off from that area. It was then that Veronica noticed that the bubble around her head was getting a bit too small for her comfort. She motioned to Nami trying to tap the bubble to indicate the problem. At the worst, she would quickly swim back to the surface and breath there.

Veronica caught the plant as it slowly drifted through the water towards her. She gave it a through examination, trying to memorize the shape and the texture. The best possible solution would be to bring it to the surface. However, she did not want to offend or agitate the mermaid and decided to eat it instead. Except there was a bubble around her head. Would it pop? Common sense said it wouldn't but Veronica was hesitant to test that out considering the circumstances. Hopefully her new friend would create another bubble if she began to drown. Taking a deep breath, she passed the fruit through the barrier and to her mouth with no trouble. She took a bite and gave a small hum as the flavors spread in her mouth. It wasn't the best thing she had ever tasted but the pure natural flavor would definitely be hard to beat, human world or not. She soon finished the plant and tucked the seed in her waistband, wishing desperately for pockets instead. She looked back to the mermaid and smiled, hoping to show her thanks for the food.

Veronica's nerves began to build. While the sights were beautiful, the heat slowly began to grow more and more. Veronica was not a expert in science or geology, but she knew they were headed for a volcano and an active one at that. While she could not deny that her interest was piked they would need to be careful. As they slowly made their way to the heat source, Veronica watched as Nami dove in and out of what seemed to be anemones. What shocked her was that Nami was completely unaffected. Clown fish, the only fish able to swim through them, had a special coating that ignored the sting of the animal. Perhaps Nami's scales were too strong to piece with the stings? Veronica swam on secretly thankful for her military training. A normal citizen would have been exhausted by now, and frankly Veronica was barely keeping up. Still it was an interesting experience, one she could not miss. Thus she put more power into her muscles and kept swimming.