Diving Into Trouble

[Energy: 20 - 10 (Entrance Cost) = 10]

Just past the outer reaches of Rainfront Town, a sickly Oshawott waddled down the beach, staring at the ocean with an awestruck expression. So this is what it looks like... Wow, my heart is racing for some reason! Must be a water type thing. It's only natural for me to want to go in, The otter supposed, clearing her throat and approaching the shoreline. The waves softly lapped over her feet, sending shivers down her spine. This feels so good... Mom would kill me if she found out that I went in alone, though.

The Oshawott sighed deeply, recalling the lecture that her mother had given her about the ocean when they arrived at Rainfront the night before. Because of her crippling breathing condition, it wasn't "safe" for her to go out swimming without somebody watching her. But with her parents meeting with some old friends at the Steamrise Inn, there wasn't anybody around to come with her! "What a stupid rule," She grumbled, crossing her stubby arms as she glared back at the town. "It's not like a quick dip would hurt anybody..." With that thought, the otter longfully casted her gaze back to the water, biting her lip. Clearly, there was a decision to be made.

As much as she feared the disapproval of her parents, the otter eventually caved in to the alure of the sea, taking a few steps deeper and then diving in, completely immersing herself in the salty water. A wave of euphoria shook her body. It just felt like she somehow... Belonged. The sensation was almost indescribable. Dear science, why doesn't the Small Pond feel like this? The Oshawott questioned, paddling her feet and tail to propel herself through the water. At this point, she knew that she wasn't turning back. If only I could live in Rainfront instead of Grassveil... I would be out here every day!

The ocean was murky due to the cloudy conditions, but thankfully, the aquatic mammal's well-adapted eyes allowed her see quite well regardless. As she swam further from the shore, she watched the ground turn from completely bare to vibrant and colorful! Science, this must be the Coral Forests... She thought, peering down at the vast reef from a safe distance. She didn't want any of the feral Pokemon living there to attack her, after all...

[Energy: 19-10=9]

Somewhere along the beaches of Rainfront lay a purple, slightly-torn beach towel. And on that beach towel, lay a piplup listening to the sounds of the ocean, reading a pamphlet on local vacation packages and making a rather poor attempt at sunbathing in overcast weather. This piplup, Clovis, had come to Rainfront for one reason and one reason alone- to enjoy the finest vacation of his life, simply because he could. At least, it had better be the finest vacation of his life, what for all the nights he had spent in crummy inns on the way there, and all the money he had spent on an expensive breakfast and brunch.

The tourist piplup groaned a bit and sat up, looking at the vast stretches of ocean which appeared before him. He wondered to himself, Why am I wasting away my leisure time lying on the sandy ground and staring at clouds... when I could be getting a massage at the Steamrise Inn? As a matter of fact, that was exactly what he planned to do. But, errrghhh... Steamrise was so far away, and massages were so expensive... Feh, screw it! Clovis declared mentally. I am going to enjoy myself here, by Arceus, and it will be fun! The piplup stood up on top of his towel, and decided that the best way to have fun was, naturally, to go for a swim.

He approached the edge of the water, kicking sand off of his feet as best as he could with every step until he reached the edge of the tide. The piplup took a breath, inhaling the sea air. It smelled like salt, wingull poop and magikarp. Exactly as he had expected. He began to wade out into the water until it covered the very bottom of his chest. Then, he took in a deep breath, and dove right into the ocean. Swimming underwater, it almost felt like he was flying, which was a very good feeling for a piplup, the bird pokémon forever doomed to fly only beneath the surface of water. It was a little unfair, really. Having a beak and wings and not being able to fly... But! There was no time to be sulking. Clovis was busy trying to enjoy his vacation!

The piplup continued to swim, scanning the ocean for anything of interest, like sunken treasure chests or, at the very least, discarded trinkets. And in a sense, he did find a treasure. Not anything of monetary value, but rather a sprawling, living forest of purple, pink, blue and green coral. So he swam down into the beautiful array of colors and coral, and decided that he would much rather spend time there, basking in natural art, than wasting the day away napping on the beach. Why, he was so awestruck by the coral forest, he didn't even notice, right above him, an oshawott looking down in his direction.

Delta instinctively reached for her scalchop when a Pokemon suddenly darted into her field of view, but it became evident that the stranger was just a local (or a tourist like her) from town. Definitely not a feral; from what she had read, Piplups generally lived in areas with colder climates. The young Oshawott slowly put her paws back at her sides, staring the tiny penguin Pokemon down as they passed by. It seemed that they were completely oblivious to her presence.

Good, it's probably better that way, The Oshawott thought, not feeling particuarly social at the moment. She waited for the aquatic avian to pass by, and then...

...A tickle in the back of her throat. Oh, dear science... The asthmatic otter frantically swam towards the surface, trying to hold back a cough. Before she could even hope to make it, however, the reflex took over, and she began wheezing violently, filling her mouth and lungs with water! Suddenly, she began to realize why her parents didn't want her to go out alone...

The piplup continued to float around the general area of the coral, making goofy, exaggerated swimming motions and rolling around to look at the area from different angles. As he rolled around with his limbs functioning as little ailerons, one angle in particular stood out to him- one where he could see both the coral and a small ray of sunlight coming down from above the water. So he concentrated on that angle, admiring the way in which the light shined on the coral 'trees'.

He continued to appreciate the neat little scene for a few seconds before looking back up towards the surface. Up a good ways above him was a pokémon about his size, but a different shade of blue and clearly much more mammalian. Probably not another piplup, but it was a little hard to tell from so far away and underneath. Ah well. He thought. Piplup or not, I wouldn't mind having some company. Maybe I'll get a chance to show off my knowledge on the aesthetics of coral? But that idea wasn't likely to happen, as the pokémon above him was swimming upwards, and rather quickly at that, away from both him and the coral. He briefly considered following the pokémon, but decided against it for fear of coming of as desperate or creepy. So Clovis watched awkwardly as the distant pokémon swam upwards until...!

What's this then? Some sort of mating dance? Clovis asked himself as the 'mon above him began to wriggle around in the water. His mind went blank for a second.
...
Then he came to a realization. Oh dear goodness, they're drowning! Quickly and urgently, Clovis began to swim upwards after the other pokémon until he could get a look at their face. It was an oshawott, a type of pokémon that was far from uncommon there in Rainfront. Unsure of what to do, Clovis positioned himself directly in front of the oshawott and began to wave his right flipper in front of them, to see if they were conscious and aware enough to consent to receiving his help, or if they were too busy drowning to notice.

As the air in Delta's lungs was forced out by saltwater, her frantic motions became even wilder and less focused. Her mind was in a complete panic, and for a while, everything was a blur. Finally, there came a point when her body didn't allow her to continue moving towards the surface. Gravity began to drag her to the seafloor... The otter stopped struggling when she realized this, resigned to her fate. She was going down die, by drowning of all ways! Such cruel irony, that an aquatic mammal could be killed by her own element. I'm such an idiot, She regretfully scolded herself, beginning to feel lightheaded. Should've just listened to Mom...

Just as the Oshawott began to fall into unconsciousness, she noticed a silhouette swimming towards her from below. She could tell that it was the very same Pokemon she had seen before. They stopped in front of her, and waved a flipper to catch her attention! Delta weakly reached a paw out in response, as if pleading for her own life... Maybe, maybe I'll live through this, She thought, blacking out shortly after.

The oshawott's response made it quite clear to Clovis that he was going to have to take some sort of action if he didn't want to witness someone dying right in front of him. Naturally, he as a civilized 'mon felt a moral obligation to prevent unnecessary deaths, and this case was no exception. But the two of them were a fair ways away from the surface; it would take quite a bit of effort for Clovis to carry an oshawott all the way to safety. Still however, what choice did he have?

The piplup wrapped his left flipper underneath one of the drowning pokémon's arms and around their body. They didn't resist the gesture. Then, after momentarily adjusting to the burden of the oshawott's weight, he began to make powerful, rapid and tiring swimming motions towards the surface with his feet and free flipper. Even with the inherent buoyancy of both water-types, and the natural swimming ability of a piplup, it was still an exhausting task. His muscles ached from both the resistance of gravity and from the effort of carrying another pokémon, but he was far too focused on making sure he got to the surface in time to care.

Eventually, the two of them did reach the surface, and the piplup let out a gasp as he inhaled the oxygen-giving air. He still held the oshawott in his left flipper, and continued to kick his feet to keep his and the oshawott's heads above water. The feeling of reaching the surface brought a much needed moment of respite, but still, he wasn't sure as to the state of the pokémon he had just brought with him. Continuing the keep the two of them afloat, Clovis examined the oshawott by checking their body for movement, breath or anything resembling consciousness. He shuddered momentarily at the possibility that he had been carrying a corpse the whole time...

Delta regained conciousness shortly after surfacing, when a bit of pressure on her stomach from the Piplup caused her to reflexively cough up all of the saltwater in her respiratory system. "Ack, wh-what the..." She rasped as she looked up at the Pokemon who saved her life. The asthmatic otter began to wheeze again before she could say anything else. That's the ocean, and they're holding me above the water, so... Did I almost drown? She questioned, almost facepawing when she came to the realization that her own element nearly killed her. Wow... That's just sad!

Once she was done hacking and gasping, the Oshawott began to weakly kick her legs, lightening the burden that was on her rescuer. "I-I, uh... Ugh... Y-you saved me..." Delta mumbled, turning to face the Piplup. Her normally pale face was bright red in embarrassment, and she wore a humiliated expression. The only thing that could possibly make the situation more demoralizing would be if her parents had been around to see it happen...

Clovis widened his eyes and jolted back his head in surprise when the oshawott snapped back into consciousness. The oshawott said something as she coughed up seawater, but her voice was too garbled and inbetween heavy breaths for him to understand, so Clovis just kept quiet for the next few seconds and waited for the oshawott to begin breathing normally. She did, and when Clovis felt the weight of the oshawott lighten somewhat, he came to the conclusion that she was keeping herself up in the water and gradually began to loosen his grip around her, stopping just short of letting go entirely.

The oshawott turned towards him with a ruddy blush that showed through the white fur on her face. She told him that he had saved her, albiet not particularly audibly. The corners of his beak twisted into a satisfied smile upon hearing those words. Saving lives and being a hero was something every wide eyed young pokémon dreamed of doing, and there he had just actually went and done it, for real! "That's right!" He bragged, completely letting go of the oshawott and putting his left flipper on his waist in a heroic pose. "I saw you while I was..." he paused momentarily, as he tried to come up with an impressive-sounding way of saying looking at coral. "...admiring a peculiar collection of marine invertebrate, when I noticed that you were in a bit of trouble. I reacted of course, and brought you up here." He blinked twice, and kept himself floating in place.

Delta narrowed her eyes at the Piplup, a bit annoyed at his initial reaction. It seemed that he was so caught up with himself that he didn't show any concern whatsoever for her well-being! "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking," She sarcastically muttered under her breath as her rescuer struck a pose. What a tool... Could be worse, though. At least he isn't gushing over me or something, She thought, giving the penguin Pokemon a little space after he released her.

The Piplup's attempt at impressing Delta with large words didn't go over very well, either. "Right, 'marine invertebrates'..." She repeated, snorting at his needlessly complex diction. She respected that he was probably well-read like herself, but... Well, the way that he had explained what he was doing was just plain nerdy. And not in an endearing way at all. "Ahem... W-well, I guess I appreciate what you just did," Delta dryly murmured, her voice still a little hoarse from her near-death experience. Oddly enough, she didn't seem to be very shaken by what had just happened.

"In that case, I guess that you're welcome." Clovis replied, saying the word 'guess' in a way similar to how the oshawott pronounced it. From the words of the oshawott and the look on her face, Clovis could tell that she wasn't very interested in praising his accomplishment, giving him a proper thanks or saying anything remotely positive in general. Good heavens! he thought, with his expression losing its previously prideful and joyous look. What a shrew. He hoped that her bitterness was merely a short-term result of the whole 'drowning' thing.

With the mood getting awful dreary, Clovis figured that he would have to say or do something to brighten up the atmosphere. Some chat about current events, an observation, or perhaps a joke? He took a breath, adjusted his beak into a fake smile, loosened his tense face, and tried to seem presentable. "If you're feeling better, would you mind telling me what exactly happened to you?" He asked, showing just a bit more concern that he had before.

Delta immediately regretted her bitterness towards the Piplup when she heard his sarcastic reply. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have said it like that... He did kinda save my life. Despite this change in heart, the two magic phrases that would probably best defused the situation, "I'm sorry" and "thank you", didn't seem to be in the Oshawott's vernacular. No, she was far too prideful to admit that she had messed up in any way.

Delta bit her lip after the Piplup asked her his next question, taking a few moments to choose her words. "What happened? I almost drowned," Delta responded bluntly. Moron. Not the most respectful answer, but at least she didn't let the second part slip. Could've been much worse.

"...But I'm guessing you already knew that. I, uh... I-I had a pretty bad asthma attack down there, which is why that happened. It's not like I can't swim or something, i-if that's what you thought!" She explained, a heavy blush reappearing on her face.

The oshawott's flushed complexion and stuttering claim that she was, in fact, capable of swimming was met with a doubtful expression and a playful quip of "Yeah, alright, I'll take your word for it." The piplup grinned a little. Something about the way the oshawott had gotten all flustered drew interest from him, as if he believed her harsh behavior concealed a hidden admiration that she was too afraid to admit.

The piplup kept a suave, almost unctuous look about him, and figured that he might as well introduce himself. "My name is Clovis, by the way. I'm here on vacation." He would have held out a flipper to shake, if not for the fact that he needed to use them both to stay afloat comfortably.

"N-no, I mean it! Really!" Delta whined, shaking her head furiously. She growled when she noticed a slight smirk form on the penguin's beak. He's just teasing me... She realized. What did he take her for, some kind of child? Well, she was rather short for her species, so that made sense... The way she was conducting herself certainly didn't help, either. "Just forget it..." The young otter grumbled, waving her paw dismissively.

Her expression softened slightly when her rescuer introduced himself. "It's Delta. And I'm also on vacation," She replied, giving her new acquaintance a nod. "I'm from Grassveil... W-well, uh, I'm actually from Grima, but I live in Grassveil now. What about you?" She curiously asked. She had never seen Clovis back where she lived, and he didn't exactly seem like the Grima type, so... Perhaps he was foreign?

Clovis' face perked up when he heard that Delta lived in the same area as him. To him it meant that they could potentially meet again when he got back home, a prospect which he considered rather fortunate. "You're real lucky then, Delta, I'm from Grassveil too." He responded, still keeping his teasing tone. "My house is just half an hour's walk westward from town square, in case you were wondering." The piplup ended this sentence with a wink, thinking perhaps that he could make her blush a third time. If she reacted poorly, he could always play it off as him having seawater in his eyes.

"Anywho," Clovis said cheerfully. "If you're really that good at swimming, I invite you to join me back down under." He swam just a little bit backwards from the oshawott, then took a breath of air and dove into the sea, swimming a few feet downwards before looking back up to see if Delta was following him or not.