[IC - M] Moonlight Upon the Waves (Alter and Naming)

[Namingtoohard]

Tereo was a strange town, Celia reflected.

Built right on the coastline, the capital city was located right where the nation's largest river split in two, forming a Y-shaped junction that cut right through the centre of town. The section of the city located on northern bank of the river was largely residential, and housed the larger part of the city's residents. Across the water, down on the southern side, commercial buildings and inns could be found, along with the marketplace and churches. Every day, several barges would flit back and forth between the two almost constantly, taking people out and home again for not so much as a single bronze coin.

Small fishing boats launched from the river's banks before heading out to sea, and the two constantly had to swerve and weave to avoid collisions that would end up with everyone in the water. It still happened on occasion, but was often met with laughter and playful curses as all the residents scrambled back towards the shore. Accusations were only made on rare occasions. Most people simply took such occurrences as a part of life, something to laugh about and bond over. Most everyone who lived in the riverside town knew how to swim, so the risk was usually minimal, and there were always plenty of people nearby to help out if need be.

Of course, aside the two public districts, there was one more section to the city. Right by the break, where the two forks of the river met the ocean, the small patch of land marooned in the middle played host to the royal family's palace. The tall spires of the castle towered over the rest of the city and the ocean alike, providing for a spectacular view whether one wished to view the sprawling expanse of the city or look out over the serene ocean. Like the rest of the city, visitors were carried back no forth by wooden barges, though these ones were usually smaller, and more exclusive. It also meant that the palace had what amounted to its own private beach, hidden away from the rest of the city behind the very palace itself.

Sometimes living in such a strange town had its advantages.

This small little beach was where Celia sat now, relaxing by the water in the fading light of the afternoon. With her formal business finished for the day, she had shed her weighty formal gown and the mantle that accompanied it, donning instead a plain and comfortable white sundress. Her long golden hair was pulled back into a single large ponytail, though her fringe had been left hanging low, as to cover the silvery crescent-moon birthmark that branded her forehead. She had forgone shoes, too, to better feel the sand beneath her feet. Most importantly of all, the place was still technically on palace grounds, which means she was not required to have at least two bodyguards escorting her every second of the evening. There were soldiers close enough to hear if she called - the girl knew that from personal experience - but beyond that, she was finally blessed with some time to herself.

The princess reclined comfortably just a few metres back from where the water met the sand, humming somewhat cheerily to herself as she meditated on her time spent in court, her stroll through the city, and her time spent holding public audiences earlier that day. The view of the sun setting out over the ocean was spectacular, and she even hummed softly to herself in something akin to contentment. As she tried to run her hands through the sand, though, a gentle twinge reminded her of the scar on her left palm, and the way the fingers would not bend properly anymore. She paused at that, lifting her scarred palm from the ground so that she could glance over it briefly. It stared at her impassively; the scarred flesh as puckered and red as always. A reminder.

"...It's been months since I last thought of those days. Of Lorenz. Why now?" She grumbled softly to herself. Her good mood was quickly obscured by the darker thoughts that were suddenly looming, threatening to ruin her free evening. With a defeated sigh, Celia would bury her hand back in the sand once more, not wanting to look at it any longer. She was a princess. She had to remember the mistakes of her past, but not lose herself in it as she tried to shepherd her people towards a brighter future. Her father's words, combined with her own motivation to be something more. Something better.

For now, that started with banishing her own frustration and enjoying the rest of her night while she had the chance.

[Alter Ego]

"Pssst, Manta!" a deep muffled voice hummed.

Manta'lia turned to her sea glass window, a translucent emerald color that cast a green hue throughout her room when the sea's artificial light shone bright. Outside her room with a smirk on his face was none other than Prince Sacheverell himself. Manta's face lit up brighter than an angler fish's light. The raymaid swam over to the glass, pressing both of her hands on the cool material and shooting a crooked grin back at her best friend.

"You have the gall to show up at my window without even bothering to bring me an anemone bouquet, or at least shrimp?" she coyed. Sacheverell snickered, shaking his head and sending his long blue hair swarming around his head.

"Unfortunately, father dearest revoked my bouquet and cooking privileges," he replied with a mock look of sorrow. He burst into another grin. "As romantic as it is trying to talk to you through a closed window, perhaps it'd be a bit easier to speak to you through an open window?" Sacheverell pointed at the top of the glass, where a latch facing Manta was locked.

Manta glanced behind her, checking for any signs of the guards outside her room trying to peek in. She waited a moment longer and when she heard nothing, turned back to face Sacheverell.

"Fine, but don't be too loud. Pop's got lookouts all over the place because his precious daughter was being 'irresponsible' and 'not fulfilling her duties,'" she mocked, reaching to the top of the window and jerking the latch sharply to the left. Manta slid the window down as quiet as she could and motioned for Sacheverell to swim in. He obliged, and when he entered, she closed the window once more. She spun around and faced her friend, not bothering to hold back a smile.

Sacheverell Sinclaire, one of the most prestigious and all-important merfolk nearby. His father was the emperor of their city, Exorqua, and an important adviser to the king Poseidon, who held more power than any other in all of the ocean. Emperor Sinclaire and Manta's father, Giranemo, general of the royal army, were close with each other, as were their own children Sacheverell and Man'talia. The two of them together caused more trouble than they were worth, having been childhood friends all throughout their near-eternal lives.

"I see your father has you on house arrest too, then?" Sacheverell yawned, lowering his voice as he laid down on Manta's oversized bed.

"If yours does, you can bet mine does," she responded, stifling a laugh at how small Sacheverell was compared to her. She was over a meter taller than him, something she never once let him live down.

"And you have yet to sneak out?" Sacheverall asked, faking surprise. Manta rolled her eyes.

"You know I've been trying to. He's got guards at every single hole in this damn house."

"Yet none at your window?"

"Be careful, Sach. If you ask any more questions with obvious answers you might end up making a fool of yourself."

The merman snickered back.

"Let's just say that I took care of them. They never saw what was coming."

"Ink cloud?"

"Ink cloud."

They both exchanged a chuckle before heading back to Manta's window, which she slid down once more. After Sacheverell had swam outside, she followed closely behind, quietly and carefully closing the window before the two of them darted off as fast as they could to the outskirts of the city, a lengthy swim from Manta's home.

The two made a competition of it, locking eyes before Manta rippled her body made of pure muscle, sending her shooting ahead of Saceheverell by a large distance. Behind her, Sacheverell cursed and tried to pick up the pace. In the end, as they reached the land where the sea grass grew thin and the plants long and wiry.

She came to a halt, barely out of breath as Sacheverell finally met with her, panting heavily and doubling over as he tried to steady his breathing.

"You know...you're built for long-distance speed swimming, and I'm built for -- "

"Lounging on your thrown and having servants hand-feed you seed grapes?" Sacheverell gave her a pointed look. Manta shot a half-hearted apologetic smile his way. "Anyway," she continued, "what are we doing today? We've pretty much explored the entire area, and I'm really not in the mood to go seastar hunting again."

Sacheverell broke out into a devious grin, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Believe you me, I found something far better than seastars. And you'll never believe what!"

"Oh, really?" Manta said, folding her arms across her chest and raising a brow.

"Trust me! Follow me, it's only a short swim from here."

Manta gazed at him with suspicion as he started to swim away. Letting curiosity take over, she followed him whole-heartedly.

***

After many wrong turns and a much longer swim than Sacheverell had promised, they finally approached the supposed entrance to an underwater cave. The harsh and gnarled rock was a deep purple, covered in barnacles and plants of various colors that clung to the stone for dear life. The entrance certainly didn't look special--if anything, it looked like a big rock in front of the giant rocks before them.

"You brought me out here...to show me a rock," she said in disbelief, sending a glare to Sacheverell.

"Yes, but not just any rock!" He swam over to the far side of the entrance and pressed his back to the edge of the large stone, which Manta noticed jutted out more than the others. With a grunt and a strong heave, Sacheverell was able to nudge the boulder far over enough to allow him--and barely Manta--through. He waved her through the crack, which was an uncomfortable squeeze for the raymaid. She turned back around to see if he was coming with her. "Keep swimming forward, and you'll come to a dead end. But look up for a small opening, covered in glowing blue algae. You'll know it when you see it. I'll wait out here and stand guard. Take your time," he added with a wink. "I know you're going to like what you see."

"You're not coming with me?" Manta asked, slightly disappointed.

"I've already seen it, and we need someone to keep lookout. Trust me, Manta. You won't regret this."

Though she found it hard to believe him, she did trust her best friend and swam onward as she was told.

As she made her way through the very small cave, she cursed Sacheverell for not finding a bigger entrance for her. Every other swirl of her tail resulted in her tail getting caught on a rock, which she'd painfully have to pry off. Still, she continued to swim.

After a few minutes of bumping and scraping against dark jagged walls passed, she found herself at a dead end. Remembering Sacheverell's directions, she looked up and saw a dimly glowing blue light above her in the outline of a circle. Manta pursed her lips when she saw just how tiny the squeeze was. The only way she would have been able to make it out would be to wrap herself up in her arms and rely solely on her hands to pull herself up and out.

Spouting choice vulgar words, she did what she had to and slowly, painfully climbed up through the hole. Her fingers felt stiff and burned, and it took every ounce of her willpower not to whip her tail and send her shooting through the crevice. Still, she grit her teeth and continued on.

Finally, she reached the opening and gave herself a hefty push up and out, spiraling further up north. Here, she noticed, the water was much warmer and bluer; far less murky than the waters back in Exorqua, though the sea life seemed slower and even sleepier than the liveliness of the ocean back at her home. She continued to swim up until she saw rays of gold shooting through the water. Her heart pounding against her chest, Manta gave another powerful ripple of her body and covered the remaining distance between her and the light.

The water pressed against her face and through her hair, sliding over her body and forming a jet as she swam faster and faster until--

--she broke the surface.

Gasping at the sudden cold, Manta looked around and blinked several times, the sudden bright light momentarily blinding her. When her eyes finally adjusting, Manta's jaw went slack as she took in her surroundings.

A short swim away from the front of her was a sandy bank, where she could make out the outlines of incredibly tall plants and other shapes of things she couldn't identify. The water around her was a brilliant aquamarine, though its color was darker and seemed to have an almost orange reflection from the big golden roof over her head. It was dotted with inky blots the color of light pink with golden lining. And beyond all of those streaks of color was a big, bright, glowing ball of a combination of orange and red. As she looked at it, her eyes started to burn and when she blinked, dark spots covered her eyes.

Continuing to blink hard, the realization of where she was finally began to dawn on her:

"The human world..." Manta gasped, her heart thudding so loudly she thought her chest would burst. Everything around her was so colorful and light and new that she could barely take her eyes off of it. The raymaid turned back around to where the sandbank was, curious to see what those shapes in the distance were.

Keeping her head above the water and the rest of her body below, she slowly swam over to the yellow land. As she got closer, she could see the silhouettes start to form clearer images: tall, hard plants with a brown stem and towering green leaves dotted along the beach, bushes covered in vibrant flowers surrounding them. In front of all of them was an oddly shaped figure that she thought vaguely resembled the upper half of a mermaid. It was all breathtaking and distracting and so much lighter than the ocean. As she swam, an invisible being caressed Manta's face, causing her damp hair to gently fly behind her.

Absorbed in this new world, she barely noticed when her belly began to slide across the soft grain of sand, and the water grew shallower and shallower until she found only her tail in the water.

Manta froze, splashing her tail and trying to push herself back into the water, fully aware that she had beached herself.

"What? No, no, no, this can not be happening!" Manta whined.

She frantically looked around, her hair whipping her face at the sudden turns. No matter what way she looked at it, she was stuck, and would certainly not be able to get out of this situation by herself.

Manta finally looked in front of her, lifting and arm and wiping her clinging fringe to the side. Once more, Manta felt her body go stiff and her jaw fell as she beheld a creature she had never before seen in her life:

A human.

Realizing that she was in a bad situation, Manta plastered a grin on to her lips and looked over the human with interest. The being, which appeared to be a girl, had long, lovely blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, with wide eyes and a slender nose. In other words, very incredibly cute.

"Human!" Manta said, controlling the fear she felt in her body and instead turning her words to oil. She tilted her head and rested her chin between her palms, smiling pleasantly at the girl before her. "How lovely you are, indeed. I've never seen one up close before, so this is rather new to me, but I will admit..." Manta leaned slightly forward, more than she dared, "I'm liking what I see."

[Namingtoohard]

Fully devoted to bringing back the tranquil air of peace hat had settled over her earlier, Celia turned her eyes skywards as the sun continued to set out over the ocean. Such a simple thing, and such a commonplace occurrence that most people seemed to disregard it as inconsequential. Celia, of course, did not agree. Repetition did not make it any less beautiful, and each one was unique in its own way, if you cared to look. The colours would always differ, or clouds would wrap those last few moments of light in a stunning fog or haze. Always something new, and always something equally impressive.

She was so caught up in the moment that she didn't seem to notice as a small figure broke the surface of the water. Perhaps she was so caught up in her own internal monologue that she was not paying attention, or she simply glossed over the fact in awe of what seemed the greater wonder? Perhaps it was a little bit of both. Her blissful ignorance would not last, though, as the unfortunate mermaid drew ever-closer to the shore.

The splashing and cries of distress that followed were more than enough to grab Celia's attention. Given the tranquil silence that had reigned just a few moments earlier, it was virtually impossible for such a sudden disturbance to go unnoticed. Celia jolted as the sudden sound snapped her out of her reverie, sitting up straight and glancing about in search of the source.

Her eyes went wide as they settled on Manta's figure, stranded as she was. On any other occasion, she might have thought the figure that of a peasant who had been swept out to sea by the river, and had swum towards the palace as the closest piece of land. This time, though, well...perhaps it was her eyes playing tricks on her in the fading light, but the unknown being's lower half didn't seem human at all.

Emotions of weariness and curiosity struggled, but the latter promptly won out. Rising to her feet, Celia would pay no mind to the sand that clung to her figure, or the way the wind made her dress ripple and wave, like it possessed a mind and will of its own. Instead, she took a few careful steps towards the creature, with both hands clasped in front of her.

She had heard stories of mermaids and the likes before, of course, but hearing about them and seeing one with her own eyes were two entirely different things indeed. The way the creature called out, addressing her as 'human', was enough to confirm any suspicions that she was not one of them.

Celia's mouth felt unbearably dry as she tried to speak, and she swallowed twice in quick succession as she willed her tongue to work. Nerves roiled inside her, and even the girl herself was unsure if it was because of the unusualness of what she faced, or the random compliment that this...mermaid...threw her way.

She wanted to call out, to run, but nerves paralysed her. After a brief hesitation, though, she reminded herself of her father's words. When she spoke, it was not as Celia the person, but rather as Celia the princess.

"I...thank you kindly, creature. Forgive me, but you are clearly not one of us, and I have never seen the likes of your kind here before" she opened simply. Unfortunately, her execution was not perfect - her voice came out a little more shaky than she would have liked, hinting at the nerves that assailed her. "Still, so long as your intentions are good, then you are welcome here" she announced.

Clearly, the girl was underestimating the peril that the mermaid was in, mistaking her greeting as a sign that Manta was not stuck, but there of her own volition.

[Alter Ego]

Manta's smile grew crooked as she held back a chuckle. The girl before her spoke the same way Manta's older sister did, trying to maintain the peace with carefully selected words that would incite no harm from either party. Unlike her sister, though, this human did not have the strong, unwavering voice. It was enough to stir a low purr of amusement in Manta's throat.

"Don't worry, dear, I have no intentions on hurting anyone, especially a human."

I need to be careful of what I say. Can't let her know where I'm really from. It's bad enough she's already seen me,
but would anyone even believe her?

The brush of the soft waves against her long tail reminded Manta of the situation she was in. Manta wasn't sure if the girl even realized why Manta was on the shore. Looking the girl over once more, Manta wasn't even sure if the girl would be able to help her in the first place. She was so small and. . .frail compared to the large muscled mass that Manta was.

"Darling, I don't mean to intrude upon you, but I'm in a bit of trouble," Manta said smoothly. She lowered her hand so that her palm faced the ground and waved it in a circle a few times. "You see, I'm a little stranded right now, and I don't have the means of getting back into the water myself." She shook her head and scoffed at herself. "I would do it myself, but I'm not in the position to do so." Manta met the eyes of the human--so different than that of her own.

The sand beneath her felt grainy and rough, even uncomfortable to be on top of. It scratched against her skin and made her grimace, not like the sand back at Exorqua.

"Preferably soon," she added. "We can talk as much as we'd like once I'm back in the water."

[Namingtoohard]

Celia pursed her lips briefly as she looked over the mermaid once again, unable to suppress her natural curiosity now. Her new friend's response was more or less what she had wanted to hear, but that soft little hum seemed a little hard to judge. Of course, the same could be said about most things when it came to meeting this new, unknown species. Her thoughts of such were quickly interrupted as the mermaid spoke up again, though, addressing the predicament that she had now found herself in. That cleared up a few questions, at least - namely why the mermaid had decided to call out to her initially.

"Ah..." the young princess let slip as the realisation dawned upon her. She assessed the situation again, with a little bit more attention to detail this time. The mermaid possessed incredible bulk, at least compared to her own relatively frail and slim-cut figure. Had she not been lying prone on the beach as she was, Celia would likely have found it intimidating. Even now, it still gave her pause. Even if she tried, would she have the upper body strength to move Manta herself? She was reluctant to call for help from her father's guards, since their interference would likely make the matter even more complicated.

Besides, hadn't she heard stories about sailors and fishermen being plucked from their boats after being seduced by such creatures? Dragged down into the depths, never to be seen again. Still, she didn't think that the mermaid bore her any ill-will as such. A brief moment of focus, disguised as a moment of consideration, hinted as such. Her sixth sense told her that the mermaid was genuine in her need, though it came across as a little...hazy. That had never happened before, and was a little concerning. Still, trust needed to start somewhere.

"...very well. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to manage on my own, but I'll give it a try. I can hardly leave one of our guests stuck like this, can I?" she announced simply. Against her better judgement, she stepped into the shallows, drawing herself up alongside the stranded mermaid. She would reach out with both hands, bending down a little as if to scoop up Manta, before hesitating. Celia really had no idea how to best go about this, or what to expect when she so much as touched the mermaid.

"Hurry up and give me your hand" she finally resolved. In that instant, the composure of Celia the princess had vanished, replaced by the simple determination to help, despite the personal risk. Of course, should the mermaid reply, her first attempt would take place in the form of her grabbing Manta's arm with both hands, and trying to physically drag her back into the water by hauling her backwards, away from the shore.

[Alter Ego]

"'Guests?'" Manta mused, though she supposed it wasn't too far from the truth. It was much better than "enemy," which was very much a threat; neither Manta nor this human knew anything about each other, and as far as they were concerned, either party could be very dangerous. Manta was grateful that the girl had yet to scream for help, a response Manta had been expecting but was certainly pleased to not have to deal with.

Manta watched with amusement as the human stepped into the water, examining Man'talia as she schemed for a way to help the mermaid. Looking around, Manta saw a rather large, sturdy piece of driftwood off on the other side of the beach. If worst came to worst, Manta would likely have to use the wood as a sort of lever.

However, the human seemed to have an idea of her own.

"Hurry up and give me your hand."

Manta raised her eyebrows in mild surprise, though she quickly returned to her normal smirk, interested in seeing what the girl had in mind.

"Of course," she replied, holding her hand out for the human to take hold of.

When the human girl took Manta's hands in hers, Manta looked down in awe. The pink hand intertwined in Manta's blue was surprisingly soft, though much dryer than the slickness of Manta's skin. It was also much smaller and much squishier; Manta's in comparison was nearly twice the size and harder to the touch. Different in every way, Manta realized.

She finally redirected her gaze back to the human's face, her usual smirk returning just as soon as it had disappeared.

"What's next, princess?" she said. "As much as I adore holding your cute hand, I'm curious as to what your plan is."

[Namingtoohard]

Unfortunately for the both of them, the princess didn't have a plan as such. Even as she demanded the mermaid's cooperation, she was more or less readying herself for the most basic and potentially humiliating attempt at a rescue possible. As focused as she was on doing something to help, Celia hadn't even begun to think about the prospect of using something from their surroundings to help. Until she knew for certain that the mermaid was too heavy for her to move, there was no point - looks could be deceiving, after all. Yes, her master plan was to simply grab on and heave with all the strength she could manage, to see if they made any headway at all. Not exactly complex or intelligent by design, but they had to start somewhere.

With no sign of the caution she had displayed earlier, the princess reached out to take the mermaid's offered hand in both of hers. She would take Manta's hand with her left, through she hesitated briefly at the strange texture. The mermaid's hand felt large and muscular compared to her own, and the moisture - while not unexpected - certainly added a strange twist. Still, she would have to trust Manta to hold on tightly. Given the lack of grip strength in her left hand, and the size difference, it was hardly an ideal situation. Still, undeterred, the princess would bring her right hand up and wrap it around the mermaid's wrist to help compensate.

"Do all your kind flirt at the most inopportune times? Or is that all you?" She questioned simply, before finally bending her knees a little and heaving - trying to walk backwards, and drag the mermaid along behind her. Unfortunately, the size difference proved to be just a little too much for her to overcome completely. The end result was only a small shift in Manta's position, despite the fact that Celia had more or less thrown her entire body weight backwards.

Determined, the princess would try a handful of times more, each with a similar result. It was progress, but it hardly felt like enough to be worth the extreme effort she had needed to put in. On the fourth haul her grip slipped, and the princess went tumbling backwards - falling back into the shallows with a splash. As quickly as she had gone down, the now-soaked princess jumped back up again, but it was too late. The damage was done, figuratively speaking. A few choice and very unladylike words slipped from her lips as he looked over her dress, before the princess suppressed them with a small pout.

"Oh man, lady Ayala is going to be so pissed. Second time I've worn it and I've managed to ruin the damn thing. Not to mention the telling-off I'm going to get for deciding to 'go for a swim' in the first place" she grumbled softly to herself; dissatisfaction written all over her face. Still, it was probably the lesser of two evils, given what would have likely happened if she left the stranded mermaid to her own devices. Her arms and shoulder were already aching, but Celia was hardly going to let that stop her, for much the same reason.

[Alter Ego]

Manta couldn't help but chuckle at the human's comment about flirting.

"You'd be surprised at how conservative mermaids are. You're meeting one of the few who love to meet new people, lucky you."

As Manta watched the girl work, she found herself impressed by the human's efforts. Though the first three yanks were small, each one was able to shift her to the left at least a few inches. As the person went to go for round four, Manta began to say something along the lines of how the human was doing better than Manta could have by herself, but got cut off by the human falling into the water.

Without any restraints, Manta burst out into laughter. The other girl looked so wet and miserable that Manta couldn't help but snort with glee.

"Oh, Neptune, you humans really are something else!" She threw her head back, howling. Her palm fell to her forehead, the other hand on her stomach which was beginning to cramp from all of the laughter. Manta forced herself to calm down when the human began to speak once more, going on about an "Ayala" and whatnot. It caught Manta's attention. "A 'Lady'?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "What's that mean?" she said but shook her head. "Actually, never mind. Don't worry about your dress, I know a way to quickly dry it, but we'll wait until I'm safely back in the water to do that."

Manta looked behind her at the rest of her body. The thinner parts, specifically her tail and a small portion of the muscle where the tail attached to the ray part of her body, and the edges of her sea wings were all partially submerged. Not by much, but enough to keep her wet for a while longer. Soon, though, she would need to return to the water.

"Anyway," Manta continued, returning her gaze to the girl, "over there," Manta pointed to the far side of the beach, where she had spotted the driftwood moments ago, "is a nice piece of driftwood that you can use as a lever. It won't be graceful for me, but it should be enough to flip me over enough that I can drag myself back into the water." A flick of her tail reminded Manta of the barbs on her tail. "Uh, be careful of my tail, though. It's got poisonous barbs on it that can kill you in minutes. I'll keep them out of your way, but you should still be careful."

After the girl retreated with the driftwood, Manta continued.

"Okay, so take the pointier end of it and wedge it underneath the right side of my ray body," she said, lifting up said side so that the darker skin showed. "Then, push on the end in the air as hard as you can. It will be enough to tip me over so I can drag the rest of me into the water. Believe it or not, I'm much stronger than I appear." Manta winked at the human. "Go ahead and flip me on your count, and remember to watch the tail. We might be able to get me in fast if you help push once I'm on my side, too."

[Namingtoohard]

The laughter that greeted Celia as she rose wasn't entirely unexpected. Indeed, she herself would certainly have been laughing had she watched anyone else take a dip in such a manner. Of course, even knowing that, the mermaid's response didn't help in the slightest.

"Yeah yeah. Let's just get this over with" the girl huffed. Annoyance and embarrassment both fought for prime position in her mind, but the knowledge that Manta wouldn't exactly be gossiping with any of her frequent associates helped somewhat...as did the suggestion that there was some way to resolve the issue. Honestly, she would have settled for a change of clothes and something warm to drink at that point, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Any solution was preferable over none at all.

Quite eager to try the mermaid's idea, which presumably wouldn't include dislocating one of her shoulders, Celia quickly trotted over to where the chunk of driftwood was waiting. She gathered it up quickly enough, before hesitating ever-so-briefly when Manta pointed out the barbs on her tail. Once again, the girl's gaze drifted downwards, settling on the very same barbs that her new friend had just pointed out to her. Honestly, the idea wasn't an encouraging one, knowing that one slip could leave her dead in mere moments. Conversely, though, the fact that Manta had pointed it out helped to alleviate some of her other fears. If the mermaid truly meant her harm, then she would have wanted to keep such a weapon secret...or so Celia's logic seemed to dictate.

"Let's just get this over with already. I'm curious to see what this solution of yours is, considering...well, it's kind of hard to imagine how somebody who lives in water knows how to dry things very effectively" she mumbled softly, but moved to do as the mermaid had instructed. Trying not to outright hit her with the wood, Celia drove one end into the sand at an angle, so that it ended up beneath Manta, before positioning herself by the far end.

"Alright then, on my count. One...two...three!" She called out, before heaving against the other end of the wood with her hands. After one brief moment of strain, that one push yielded more results than all of her earlier attempts put together, and with considerably less effort. With physics on their side, Manta tipped ever-closer towards her salvation. If it proved necessary, Celia wouldn't hesitate from stepping forward to push against Manta's side, either, to help her side back into the ocean the rest of the way. Naturally, the driftwood lay forgotten now that it had served its purpose.

Once Manta was roughly half-submerged again, Celia would withdraw, taking a careful half-step backwards while eyeing that deadly tail again. Just those barbs alone we're enough to make her shiver, which was unsurprising given the threat they represented. Still, standing ankle-deep in the water herself, she would watch calmly to try and witness the fruits of their combined efforts. Part of her feared that Manta would forget her earlier promise and simply disappear back into the depths now that she was free. Now that she knew they existed, this singular mermaid held the key to what was potentially a new world of knowledge and discovery, even if Celia doubted she would ever see their home for herself. If the mermaid ducked off now, she would forever loose that possibility - a prospect that saddened her, she realised.

"So...is that far enough?" She questioned simply, waiting with baited breath for an answer.

[Alter Ego]

Manta braced herself for the upcoming fall, knowing her landing was going to be far from graceful. On the count of three, the human pressed down, using the leverage to push Manta's body off the ground. She tried not to wince as the wood jabbed her sensitive underside. Thankfully, the makeshift lever was enough to get Manta far enough on her side so that, if she twisted her body just so, she was able to claw at the sand and drag herself across the shallow bank in a counter-clockwise arc. Mindful of her lethal tail, Manta relied solely on her upper body strength--with some help from the human's semi-useful pushing on her backside--to drag herself back deep enough into the water that the entire ray part of Manta's body was submerged.

When all was said and done, Manta let out a sigh of relief, relishing the warm water that swept over her lower gills and refreshed the raymaid.

"Ahh...Thank you, human," Manta said with a grateful dip of her head. "This is much better than before. I'll be able to swim back home with no trouble." She flashed a small genuine smile. "It is much appreciated."

Ah, I owe her a favor now... Manta thought, a fox-like grin tugging at her lips. The seafolk way of promising a returned favor was always fun.

"Now, to dry you off..." she started, tapping her chin with her finger. "Well, you'll have to come a bit farther into the water, as ironic as that sounds." The water would be around waist-deep for the human. "Trust me, it will work," Manta promised.

When Celia had made her way into the water, Manta risked moving a few inches closer to the girl, faintly grinning down at the smaller creature. Carefully, Manta grabbed a piece of the cloth dress that the human was wearing and pressed it to her lips, parting her mouth so that there was a small opening. Manta sucked on the fabric, drawing the moisture out of the dress. After a few moments, Manta shuddered happily as the feeling of water being poured on her swept throughout Manta's body. When the feeling had swept away, Manta looked back to the human.

"As soon as you step out of the water and onto land, your dress will dry. It's an old torture method I learned from my father years ago, but it will only affect your dress." Manta glanced over the girl again. "Actually, I don't believe I even know your name. Care to share?" she asked. "If you have any titles, you can keep that to yourself. I want to know you, not your role."