upthere | One Seashell

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One Seashell - Action

[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...]

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[Well, there's a Sanji in the forest. Fear not, Ariel, he will rescue you soon!

... Or maybe he won't notice there's a redhead in the trees and continue speaking with the air, as if someone's with him]

I'm tellin you, I'm not that fuckin out of practice, asshole! [Mutter mutter, and then he absentmindedly kicks at the tree... she might be on.]

[... Oh hey, it's a person! She can't help staring at first, because he looks so... different! Blond and... saying very weird words that she's never heard before.

Huh.

And then he kicks the tree and AAAAH;ASKJLDFH;ALSJDH

Even the smallest shake of the tree makes her grit her teeth and hold on with wide eyes, and she opens her mouth to try calling out to him -

And... there's no sound. Mmf...

She briefly glances away, but that's about all the time she spends dwelling on it. Because she feels like she's about to fall, and she doesn't particularly want to fall, so she tries to wave one arm while holding on with the other. Pleeease notice her!]

[Nope, still not paying attention!

... Which is why a certain spirit gets fed up with Sanji's fail, and there's a spike of heat buzzing right around his head.] O-oi, what the--! [Irritated, he swipes uselessly in front of him, until the air cools and he stares up at the sky on a reflex -- probably to aim more profanities at his filial friend]

What's the big idea?!

[Fuuuuuuuuuuuu--]

Miss?! [Jesus Christ there's a redhead in the trees. Who looks ready to fall. This is Not A Good Thing and so Sanji does the first thing that comes to mind.

Which is... jumping into the air and grabbing her just as her grip gives. Never fear! He's got you... while still in the air, fancy that.]

Are you alright?!

[AAAH -

Oh thank goodness, he noticed her. And caught her. Ariel automatically holds onto his shoulders, and at his question, she nods and smiles. She's still shaking a little thanks to that near fall, but - ]

[And now she notices that she's still up in the air.

WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHY ARE THEY STILL IN THE AIR HOW IS HE FLYING DO HUMANS ACTUALLY DO THIS AAAH

Her grip tightens, and she pushes herself against him in an attempt to... get away from the air and ground. Because WHAT IS THIIIIS]

[Well, he takes her initial smile with relief, just glad she's okay -- and then nearly drops her when she tries to scramble away.

Ariel noooooo. On the surface, there's only one way gravity will let you go. So he keeps his grip secure and his voice an attempt at soothing]

Oi, it's okay! We're not gonna fall!

[But they're up in the air! And this isn't exactly stable, Sanji!

She looks up at him, then points down to the ground with wide eyes. WHAT IS THIS. WHY AND HOW IS THIS HAPPENING.]

[This time, the gesture without words is fairly telling, and he stares bemused at her mouth before he thinks to reply... and jump back down to the ground, eheh]

Oh, that's called Sky Walk! I just kick fast enough that I stay airborne.

... You can't speak, can you?

[... That doesn't make a lot of sense, but she's still relieved, and she still smiles. Ariel knew that she wouldn't understand a lot of things when she signed the contract... She'd just listen and learn.

Sky Walk... hmm.

But at his question, she looks up at him again with surprise. He figured it out? It... does save her having to figure out how to explain.

She lowers her head a little and brings her hand to her throat, then shakes her head slowly. No, she can't speak.]

[... Sigh.

He lets her down so she can stand on her own two feet, obviously unknowing of how... difficult that might be, and despite the news, there's a smile in his voice]

If it's alright with you, I can show you into town~! It's not too far from here. [Plus, it's cold and you're in that thin, unaccommodating New Feather garb.]

[Though Sanji let her go, she's still holding his shoulders, and she doesn't pay attention to what he's saying in favor of concentrating on her legs.

This is the first time she ever tried to stand. It feels so... weird, having all of her weight bear down on two legs. Speaking of those, they wobble slightly under her weight, and she sways just a little.

How do they walk again? Even just standing seems difficult!]

[... Okay, this? Sanji isn't sure how to categorize. "Never walked before" is not on the suspicion list because... well, she looks plenty human to him. Perhaps it's nerves? Except she doesn't strike him as particularly scared either; just distracted, making sure she doesn't topple over.]

Are you... sure you're okay? [For now, he'll just stand still, and be ready to catch her should she lose her balance]

[She gives him a glance, the smile still staying on her face, but looks down at her legs again. Sorry, Sanji, she's too busy with this discovery.

Ariel lets go of one shoulder and attempts to take a step back, but that's a bit too much, and she sways from side to side before starting to fall back.]

[He's had practice with Senri. The silent treatment doesn't deter him.

But falling ladies kinda do. B| asfkjlk; He catches her, suddenly wishing she could talk so he could get to the bottom of this]

Here; hold onto my hands. [Since she's hellbent on walking before anything else, Sanji can at least help. And just in case she's still spacing, he takes her hands and walks in front of her, acting as a balance buffer, so to speak.

Let's get this done so he can introduce you to shoes.]

[Yes, shoes would be awesome. Although it is very nice to feel the dirt and grass beneath her toes, it's still very cold to feel what seems like crunched up ice.

Ariel looks up at him when he catches her and takes her hands, then gives a big smile because hey, he's helping her! Not only is he a balance buffer, but he's also acting as a sort of guide, to show her what walking is like.

Left foot, right foot, one in front of the other, one two...

She concentrates on his feet and her own, and she does her best to mimic what he's doing. She's still wobbly, but at least she's not on a one-way ticket to have her face meet the ground. Though that might be because he's holding on to her.]

[Indeed, it looks like she's getting the basic tempo down, but Sanji doesn't dare let her hands go just yet.

This might take a while.

Which is why he may or may not be angling their walk in the direction of the village >_> See what he did thar?]

I think you're getting it~!

[I see what you did thar. Only she doesn't know about the village so not really.

At that, though, she looks up at him, her grip tightening as she sways even more now that her attention isn't on her feet. But she still gives him a wide eyed, yet excited expression, as if asking "Do you really think so?"]

[Well, he meant what he said - except when Ariel's attention shifts, Sanji is forced to do some impromptu compensation for her swaying, and they both nearly stumble to the ground. Luckily he rights their balance before a tumble to the ground is in order.]

Aah... did something... happen to you, Miss? [Hell if he knows; maybe she's naturally clumsy, or Luceti did some weird shit to the poor thing. He wouldn't put either option past her.

[fffff well goodness, her smile turns into a cringe when they have to find their balance again. This walking and balancing thing is a lot harder than it looks...

His question makes her look up at him again, and... her head lowers a little as she seems to just pause. She's not sure how to say this... "I was once a mermaid, but I got turned into a human"? She's not sure if a human would ever believe that. But it's... pretty obvious that something is wrong, at least.

She bites her lower lip a little, and she... gives a slow, unsure nod. And - well, Ariel figures she ought to try to explain. This person's been so kind so far.

So, she lets go of one hand, though her hand hovers a little with uncertainty over her balance, and then she gestures to her legs before she moves her hand in a wave motion, as if to describe swimming with a dolphin's tail, or even a mermaid's tail. Next, she pats her throat and brings her hand outward, trying to indicate that her voice was taken as well.]

[With such sad, unsure faces being pointed at him, Sanji nearly insists she not listen to his invasive rambling. The last thing he wants to do is overstep a boundary.

Which is why he's somewhat surprised at her willingness to explain... or attempt, if nothing else. The first part is simple enough, and he nods. Something bad happened. The gesture following after that... alright, something to do with her legs, and he's a pirate, so the first guess is:] Swimming?

[... as for the throat part, that too warrants a guess that's right and wrong at the same time] You lost your voice while swimming? [Sanji's interpretation: a girl who's more at home in the water than on land, and lost her voice in some accident. So now she's dealing with a case of sea legs]

[She nods at the swimming, though her smile turns... kind of sheepish at his next guess. It's sort of half right and half wrong. After all, how else is she supposed to say "I signed a contract to have a sea witch use magic to turn me into a human"?

But hey, Ariel's a trooper. She'll try anyway, by putting her hand by her hip and wiggling her fingers to try and show Ursula's tentacles, then bringing her hand up to make that same motion, to show some kind of term for "magic" -

Except she pulled her other hand out of his to do this with both of them, and that plus the sudden movement of her hands just reminds her that no, the air above the sea is not buoyant, and she tips forward as a result. Good thing he's right there for her to grab on to!]

[There is a lot of finger wiggling going on up in here. Sanji's gonna start thinking she's putting a spell on him.

He understands he's only half-right, once again using her facial expressions as the main guide while he watches intently.] So swimming with... hip... wigglers...? [Not tentacles, because that is silly.

And he's more than ready to catch her when she topples. Again. This boy has the script memorized at last. He's also okay with helping a pretty girl who has just smacked into him. Because fuck yeah.]

[Ehem. Moving on.]

How about we practice walking a bit more, eh? Then you can explain everything later! [He nods behind him] There's a town close to here. We'll get you some clothes, shoes, food... everything befitting of a beautiful princess~!

[...

How

did

you

KNOW.

At least, that's pretty much what she's saying with her expression, as she stares at him with wide eyes and a gape. SHE DIDN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING. COULDN'T EVEN.]

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