One Seashell - Action

[upthere]

[When Ariel burst out of the sea, she had expected to still be in the water. What she wasn't expected was to be stuck up in a tree.

At least, she thinks it's called a tree. Whatever it is, she's stuck in it, and the ground is pretty far beneath her.

She leans over to cling to the trunk of the tree and stares down, wondering how she got up here and how to get down and - and is that... is that the ground?

Then she... She's on the land?

Ariel slowly looks over to her legs. Legs. Legs! She can't help stretching one out, and the shock on her face turns into elation. It worked! The spell worked! Oh, she has to find Eric now! She -

She's so happy that she very nearly falls out of the tree, and she holds tightly to the trunk again. Yeaaah, she should. Probably not move much right now, even for Eric.

Maybe someone will come along...]

Comments

[upthere]

[... Oh, hey, she's offering help! Well, that smile loses its uncertainty in favor of relief, and she nods a few times to get her point across. Maybe she can tell her what to do, or... maybe catch her if she falls! Ariel just isn't sure right now. She is sure that the ground would hurt to fall on, unlike diving into the sea from a height like this.]

[happyends]

Okay! [ Madoka nods back, but.. then.. realises she can't really help either in this situation, right...

Well, she should help at least, yes! ]

Do you know how to climb a tree? If you.. um.. try to step down branch by branch, you should be able to get down more..!

[upthere]

[Step... down... branch by branch...?

Ariel isn't sure if she can do that. She looks down at the branches, then her legs, and she bites her lip and gives a nod as she shifts to try and do as she's told. If this were the sea, she'd have no problem jumping out. But she's pretty sure she wouldn't like falling right now.

Leaning her leg on the first branch feels odd. It's like trying to push your weight on a new limb that you've never had until now. Her leg shakes slightly, and she holds on tight to the branch she slid off of. Gah, she feels stuck already...]

[happyends]

Y.. you can do it..! [ Madoka knows she can't do much else, and watching the girl slowly stumble and come down like this is almost like torture, especially she worries about what if she falls, what will she do, what can she do-- ]

Don't worry, it's not that far down, I promise..

[upthere]

[Ariel glances back at the girl, then just tries to focus on this climbing thing. Okay, okay, as long as she sees the branches she's trying to put her foot on, she -

OKAY MAYBE NOT SLIPPING FROM ONE NOW.

...

Well. At least she's holding on with her hands. But now she's kind of hanging with wide eyes and isn't sure what to do now. Uhh... WHERE'S ANOTHER BRANCH.]

[happyends]

[ JUST LETTING OUT A SHRIEK HERE because Madoka is sure the girl is falling, but.. okay, no, she's still hanging on. Hanging on is good. Let's keep this going. Deep breaths, Madoka, deep breaths.. ]

A-a little more to the left! You can put your foot down on a branch there..!

[upthere]

[T-To the left?! Ariel looks and... yes, it looks like there's one there. She reaches out her foot - waves it a little, and then manages to get it to lean against the branch. She moves it up slightly further to get more of her balance back, then tries to climb down once more. Okay. Okay, she's got this. She can do it!!

Finally, she's just a few feet from the ground, and there aren't any more branches.

Welp. Time to let go!!

... And land on her side. Ow.]

[happyends]

[ ... Ack.. was that last part entirely a smart move-- well, there's nothing to be done about it now, so Madoka quickly patters over to the other girl instead, looking slightly worried. ]

U.. um, are you okay? Does it hurt?!

[upthere]

[Ariel pushes herself up on her arms and waves her hand as if to say that she's fine, she's totally fine. She's been through worse! But now there's something she wants to try.

She rocks back on her heels and gives her feet her full attention as she slowly, very slowly, pushes herself up on her legs. Those legs are very wobbly and unsteady, but oh gosh. OH GOSH. She's STANDING. A smile spreads across her face as she straightens out a little more - She's standing!]

[happyends]

[ For some reason, that girl looks like she's really happy.. to stand..? Which seems a bit odd to Madoka, but it's not like she's the type to question people, so she just smiles back, trying to seem slightly encouraging and reassuring. ]

You're all okay, I'm glad.

[upthere]

[She nods, as she's definitely okay. But now that she's standing up straight, it's... definitely hard to keep her balance. Aaah what is this gravity thing, and what is fighting against it, aaaaah

So, Ariel reaches out both hands to her. Help? ):]

[happyends]

[ Don't worry, Madoka rushes right over to support the girl to keep her standing, holding both of her hands. ]

There, is this okay..? Um, if you need to hold on to my shoulders or something instead, that's fine too..!

[upthere]

[Despite all the trouble Ariel's having, she still smiles when Madoka comes to her, and she nods in agreement. The hands aren't quite the most stable things to hold on to, so maybe the shoulders will be better.

After some maneuvering, Ariel manages to get her hands onto Madoka's shoulders. She tilts her head to look at the girl - is this better? Is she okay with this?]

[happyends]

[ Madoka quickly nods back, even smiling as if to encourage the other girl. ]

Hmm, you're doing fine so far! And you got out of the tree, at least that's a relief.. [ giggle. ]

[upthere]

[That makes her look back at the tree, a curious expression on her face. She knew it was a tree, she heard as much. But... she's never actually seen one up close. And she can't help being captivated by the way the leaves rustle in the wind...]

[happyends]

[ She just slowly blinks at the other girl, almost curiously and trying to follow her gaze. ]

Can you see something special..?

[upthere]

[... OH right this is a human!

Ariel looks back at her and shakes her head, a big, sheepish smile on her face. N-No, nothing at all! Trees aren't special! At least, if humans think they aren't, then... she guesses... she doesn't think so either!!]