The Ocean's Song (pt.2)

~18~

"Oh!" Naida burst out and quickly swam back to her room, grabbed a pouch from her suitcase, and hurried back to Ray. "I brought this specifically for you since you're into hair styling." She handed him the pouch, and he opened it up. Inside was a hairbrush, hair ties, bobby pins, and a very thick conditioning gell that would help keep her hair detangled underwater.

"W... what is this?" Ray asked, genuinely confused.

Naida facepalmed. Of course he didn't know what these were. "They help with styling hair." She chuckled. "I can show you."

"Oh, uh, sure." Ray accepted awkwardly since it was always him doing her hair. Nadia smiled and started by applying some of the gell, and working it into his hair by massaging his scalp with her fingers, then slowly ran the brush through it until it was detangled and looking nice.

"There, that's a lot better." Naida snickered and put the supplies back into the bag.

"That makes a lot more sense." He chortled and Naida let out a small chuckle that quickly escalated into a coughing fit. As if on cue, Lionfish came back with Krait.

"Come on!" Naida crouped, motioning them over. They didn't hesitate, everyone immediately took their positions and quickly granted her their gifts.

Naida took in a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. "Okay, I'm good, let's go," Naida affirmed. She looked down at her tail uncertainly, it didn't seem too hard to swim with it, though she could be underestimating it. She has tried swimming as if she had a tail a few times, who hasn't, but now that she actually had one, a real tail full of powerful muscles ready to propel her many feet in just a flick of her tail, she didn't know how easy it actually would be.

Only one way to find out. Naida aimed herself towards the glassless window and gave her tail four strong thrusts. It started out fine, but she quickly gained too much speed, and with no idea how to steer herself, she dove straight into the sandy seabed.

She heard the brother's laughter echo through the water as they swam after her. Naida righted herself and folded her arms, scowling at Lionfish who still hadn't finished laughing.

"Are you alright?" Shark asked, taking her wrist and observing the small scratched up patch of skin on her forearm.

"I'll be fine. It stings pretty bad cause of the saltwater though." Naida hissed.