Beauty and The Beasts: Rain

42. Unexpected

This is the first update for today May 20th.  The other updates will come later, after my wonderful and supportive proofreader goes through them.  Enjoy.

     The caravan did not run into anymore trouble on their way. They arrived in the evening the following day. The ocean was larger than Rain thought. Third jumped in the water before anyone could stop him and Rain was tempted to do the same.

     Harvey could feel Rain's excitement and could see Third's. The fliers patrolled the area, while the bear king set up camp further away from the water. Rain decided to stick her head into the ocean, but gave in to her wish to swim. She reasoned that it was acceptable for her to patrol along the shallower parts.

     Rain's eyes stung and the water tasted salty to her. It was quite cold so she practiced the small muscle contractions. Indeed, that helped her warm up.

     Rain marveled at the underwater world. It held a fascinating type of beauty. She caught a small fish and ate it. The flavor was different than that of river fish. She slithered her body through the sand and felt the grime wash out of her scales. Rain wanted to see more, but determined it would have to wait until the following day when the sun was brighter.

     Rain left the ocean behind and realized Third had yet to stop frolicking. She retrieved her brother and dragged him back to their party. Rain noticed that a certain spider was missing. She found him poking the water as it receded and jumping backwards as the tide came in. He repeated this process and Rain decided to ignore him again. She had her tail full.

     Rain dropped Third and shifted. The water slid off her skin and Harvey handed her her coat. She wrapped herself in it before burying her chilled face into Harvey's chest.

     Harvey flushed, but smiled. He could feel her awe through their bond and knew she enjoyed herself. He was glad to be able to warm her.

     Third complained in leopard speech, but shifted anyway. The water squeezed out of his fur as it turned to skin. He shook his tail and flung water on Rain. Harvey tried to block as much as possible.

     Third pouted. It might have been petty of him, but it wasn't fair. The spider got to keep playing, but he wasn't allowed to. He tried to glare at his sister, but it wasn't effective.

     The group made their way to the campsite and the spider was left behind. Rain was confident that he would catch up at some point. Tomorrow they would trade and begin preparations for Winston's new method. The bear king had yet to share the specifics, but Rain would figure it out through participation.

     Vern laid close by as the group settled for bed. Rain swore the two bears seemed closer than usual and her eye twitched. They were still a respectful distance away and it was reasonable for them to be closer to the contents of the caravan. Rain kept her senses on them, but otherwise let it go.

     The next morning, Alexander called for the merfolk. They responded quickly and brought the salt with them. The merfolk were a colorful bunch, sporting a large variety of traits and colors. Third openly gawked at them and Rain gave them a side eye.

     Rain heard that merfolk were as friendly as the typical snake male, so she had no desire to involve herself with them. She remained in her beast form and patrolled from the ocean. It was called patrol, but Rain was enjoying every moment of it.

     Rain was tempted to explore more, but it wasn't appropriate for now. Her supple body moved swiftly through the waves. She had confirmed the presence of merfolk guards underwater, but they did not approach her hastily.