Running Free~ [Open][NR]

Giggling was snatched away by the wind as the very young female ran barefoot across the sandy beach, feet hitting water as the waves came in, tickling toes which only caused more giggling. Silvery-white hair blew back behind her, wild looking due to the wind. Her spaghetti strapped white cotton top and matching shorts stuck fast to her body, blown back behind her as she moved.

Why was she running? Simply because of the beautifully colored butterfly that was attempting to avoid her grasp. Sure, she could have sat still, waited for it to get close, but this seemed like so much more fun than that; and used a lot less patience. Thankfully the beach was empty still of the tourists, a storm off shore keeping them from being able to make the trip to the island, so she didn't have to worry about really watching too carefully to where she was going.

A flick of a tail; the occasional twitch of ears; without that he would have been all but invisible; half buried in the sand and not at all annoyed by it. The warmth felt nice, and his head was plenty free to allow him to watch his daughter play. He'd taught her so many ways to just bring the butterflies to her without having to chase them; but he also recognized the need for her to run and play and just have fun. He wasn't about to take away any chances for her to enjoy herself; too many reminders of what happened when the right to a childhood was revoked had slapped him in the face lately. She had forever to be an adult; now was the time to play.

"It's going to escape love.~ Faster faster faster!~" Words growled in his native language; the only he could speak in his tiger form; and spoken easily. The only chance he ever really got to use it; between them. She understood him innately, he'd never had to teach her the languages of their people. A lovely surprise; she'd listened to his songs and stories as a baby and taught herself everything even before she could speak at all. His perfect, brilliant child.

Her father's words reached her ears easily and she pushed herself faster, feet barely having time to make a sound against the water as she ran. When she got close enough she dived forward, arms outstretched in front of her. Hands came together, clasping around the butterfly before her body hit the soft sandy beach and rolled, leaving herself coated in a thin layer of the sand, but she didn't mind in the slightest.

The butterfly no longer was flying high up in the air and carefully she sat back up, giving herself a light push with her elbow while continuing to keep her hands clasped around the small creature within them. She got up to her feet and walked over to her father. She sat herself down next to him Indian style and took a deep calming breath, exhaling slowly. With her amber colored gaze on her hands she slowly opened them, revealing the beautifully colored butterfly within them. Wings twitched, but the butterfly just remained there.

She knew so long as she didn't move the butterfly would remain, but she just couldn't help herself from giggling, startling the lovely butterfly and causing it to flutter its wings, lifting itself up and off of her hands. "Bye butterfly", she said softly, words in the same language her father had spoken to her in, voice soft as a whisper when she spoke.

"One day love. Sometimes it's more fun to laugh on the inside, then on the out. Although it does feel good to laugh; that never changes." A shift of his weight had him rolling over; the sand wasn't heavy, it was too powdery and soft to be heavy when dry; and while it clung like sugar to his fur, it wasn't annoying. It just made him seem paler then he really was. "The chase works for the flying beasts. Have you ever tried to catch a swimming creature that way?"

Or in other words; he wanted to take a swim with her, if she felt like it. Show her the corals and fish and all the lovely things below the waves; instead of just the flying jewels that where insects.

Her amber gaze turned to the sea and she shook her head no and then smiled. She stood up and giggled softly. "I want to go play in the ocean! And catch a fish!", even in her excitement her voice was soft. She ran her way over to the water's edge and stopped, glancing back at her footprints in the wet sand and then back to the ocean.

She took several steps into the water, pausing when it got up to her knees. "Is it true there's a giant monster that lives in the ocean? I heard some people talking about this enormous giant fishy that like... eats boats.", despite the question there was no fear in her voice, just pure curiosity. She took another few steps in, bringing the constantly moving water to waist.

"Likely; the sea hides many secrets." Tales of a sea monster... it never failed. Likely just a young sea dragon having fun; or more likely just a quirk of the local conditions that caused ships to sink. The mind could create all kinds of weirdness to cope with trauma. He walked up to her until he was able to get his paws wet by the lapping waves; eyes trained on the horizon and watching for any unnatural movements. "I don't see any danger, so a quick swim won't hurt us." There was mirth in his tone; a happiness only heard when he was alone with his family.

A flick of his tail, short rub against her side and an affectionate purr; then he was moving into the water. The sand almost melted away; clouding the water around him for a moment until he was deep enough to swim properly. Much better. "Come along love. Just remember not to step on the pretty rocks. You don't want to hurt it, and it will hurt you.~"

Once deep enough her feet left the sandy bottom of the sea and she swam out more, though remaining within a close enough distance to her father. As she treaded water she looked down through the clear water to the beauty hidden beneath the water's surface. A beauty that one wouldn't even know existed unless they actually thought to stop and look at it. A giggle escaped her at her own thoughts.

A small, rather colorful fish, like many that Amaranth had ensured were around, came swimming between her legs and she giggled again. "I see a fish... " Then a random question popped into her head, like they do all children's heads once in a while. "Daddy, why don't the fish, or sharks, or really anything in the sea come near when mommy's around? When she comes swimming with me I never see anything that's alive. Except maybe starfish..."

"Animals are better able to sense danger then most of the 'higher' creatures." There was an emphasis on the word higher, a tone that spoke of contempt for the label. Animals where still animals, no matter how highly evolved they thought themselves to be. "While she would do nothing to harm anything that does not seek to harm her, or you; they fear her anyway. She appears as danger incarnate to them." In circle around her he swam; wide enough not to cloud the water she started into; but still close enough to be reached if needed. "We seem more... normal; safer, if you will. We are of their world; she is not, not anymore. So while we can swim so close that they brush against us without worry... they flee in fear of most else."

She listened carefully to her father's explanation and couldn't help but giggle. "It's just hard to think that a big scary shark with all of those teeth would be scared of mommy." Then again, she had seen her mother's beast, when she let the thing out for some exercise... which was her way of keeping it in check and not wanting to force itself out for no reason. That curse of hers had a lot of teeth, and claws, and even a spiky tail. So, she could only imagine how it would feel to have that thing in front of you and it not know who you are; after all, the curse was as fond of her as it was of her father, and wouldn't harm them, even when enraged.

She dipped her hand below the water, legs still moving slowly to keep her head and part of her shoulders above the water. She watched as the colorful fish swam near once more, moving close to her hand before swimming off, almost as if it were teasing her. "Silly fish.."

"Do you know what those are, love?" He stopped his swimming, allowing his bulk and the air trapped in his fur to keep him afloat. From here he allowed his tail to fall below the waves and hang weightless in the crystal waters; easy target for the school of fish swarming them. "They are called 'Cleaner Fish'; their sole purpose in life is to approach larger creatures and removed debris, parasites, and loose scales from their bodies. A vital service in a place where you cannot groom yourself."

And as he spoke the fish moved closer to his tail and paws, little mouths open and pressed to any fleshy spot they could find; sucking away the calloused flesh of paw pads; a stray sand flea that had worked it's way onto his tail; anything they could find. "If you are still, or mostly so; they will clean you as well. Come over here, hold to me tightly so you can stop kicking. It's actually rather nice; even tickles slightly."

She watched the fish curiously and then slowly swam her way over to her father, she grabbed onto him carefully, making sure she didn't end up slipping down below the constantly moving water before she allowed herself to still, amber gaze remaining on the fish. "So are these fish edible? Mommy said not all fish are good for eating, and that some taste very very bad."

She watched the fish move closer, seeming more curious at first, before they came to her too in much the same manner. She bit her bottom lip, grinning, and trying to hold back the giggles that wanted to escape, along with trying to keep herself as still as possible: but that tickled, a lot. "It tickles..."

"I am not sure if these taste very good; but your mother is right. Some fish are horrid. Most however are edible enough in a pinch. An advantage of who and what you are... you will never be sickened by the bad fish; merely disgusted." She wanted to go fishing, eh? He'd have to show her some tricks. "Crawl onto my back and hold on; I shall catch you a fish for a snack, yes?"

She nodded, storing that information with the rest of the stuff she knew she was going to need for later; her excellent memory was a lovely thing indeed. Her little legs moved in the water once more, causing her to lift up enough out of the water so that she could get a good hold of her father and crawl onto his back. Once situated and holding on she giggled.

"That sounds yummy! I'm ready!", she said excitedly, giggling again. She wondered exactly how her father was going to catch a fish with her on his back, but figured she would find out soon enough.

"Hold on tight, and when I say, take a deep breath.~" His head dipped below the water; shovel sized paws moving him through the water easily. His keen eyesight wasn't blurred by the water; a Nictitating membrane moving to cover his eyes and allowing for perfect clarity. He was waiting, searching for a perfect fish. A special fish; lethal to other creatures but perfectly safe for them to eat; fat and slow and normally so confident in it's safety.

Ah, there we are. Floating around near a nice brain coral. Perfect.

His head lifted above water; smile on his face as he exhaled and spoke, "Take the breath now, love." and paused to give her a moment. Then he was diving quickly below the waves; paws and legs pressed tightly to his side so that he was swimming more like a snake then a giant cat. He was perfectly aimed to glide right to the special fish; and that's exactly what he did; waiting until the last possible moment to open his jaws and slam them shut; instantly stunning the fish (he wouldn't kill it just yet) so that it couldn't attempt to poison him. It wouldn't do anything but sting unpleasantly, so he was all for avoiding it.

Up he moved; arced to break the surface without moving; paws and legs working again when he had. Towards the shore he moved now; purring softly to let his daughter know he was alright and the fish was caught. Out onto the sands he moved; towards the spot they had left their little cache of supplies. Some scraps of wood for him to carve; some firewood to cook with; blankets and toys and everything they needed for a little day camp.

His jaw opened when they arrived; dropping the still stunned fish onto the soft sands. Now it was struggling; puffing up like a funny little balloon. "Now don't touch it just yet... the spikes are normally exceedingly poisonous. They won't make you sick; but they burn and it's really not a fun feeling. If you light the fire, I can clean the fish up.~"

The Butler, dressed in his black suit, was standing near the little day camp. When or how he got there was unknown. The butler was a mysterious man who moved in mysterious ways. He was a loyal man who followed every order given to him by Alec down to the letter. To find out that Flynn and Nanalie were family members of Demi, then to find where they were located on the island, was a simple task.

"Excuse me," he said to Flynn and the child. "I am to inform you that a very serious matter has arisen, and that Demitria has been asked by my employer Alec Kane to remain in Edge City for an undetermined length of time. You and the child are welcome to join her."

Then as quickly as he had delivered the message, he was gone..

Nanalie had just been about to get to work when the man suddenly appeared. She blinked her amber gaze up at him, listening to the words that he spoke. Edge City? She'd never been off the island before: unless you included her time spent in the water. But, she still had some of her mother's blood in her, and knew the general location that her mother was, even at this distance.

She suddenly felt herself no longer caring at the fish snack, or anything else. "Daddy... something's wrong... " She turned her amber gaze into the direction of Edge City, the direction she could feel her mother, no matter how much distance was between them. "Mommy's... scared...."

"......"

Great. Just great. He'd only met the Butler once before; and to see him now was... not a happy sight. Even less so with his message; and now Nana's worrying. Well then, things where about to get interesting. Well... at least he was prepared for... well, anything. He's bow and vambraces where stored in his small bag; a handy little rune inside the lip of the bag causing a tweak to the physics of the bag itself that allowed it to be larger on the inside then out. The bag was made to be worn in any of his forms comfortably; so the time he was about to spend swimming was not going to be an issue.

"Nana, gather your things. Store them away. I shall take you to your mother. We're going on an adventure to the city; love."

Nanalie's face took on as serious of a look as any child's face could. She could pack her things up by hand, but she knew a faster way. Telekinesis was a lovely part of one of her abilities, and it would come in handy now as her mind was even faster than her body. Concentrating on the items of hers lying around she gathered them up into her bag, stacking each and every one in neatly and in such a way to where they all easily fit. The whole packing took a matter of about ten or so seconds, and then she was reaching forward and closing the flap to the bag, and slipping it onto her back.

She had never been to the city, and should have been more excited, but all she could do, at least for the moment, was to worry about what was wrong to have her mother so fearful and worried: or at least, that was how she was precieving the emotions. Her mother's mind was too chaotic to get an actual explanation. "I'm ready, daddy."

Omnikinesis:

"Climb onto my back; hang on tight. No matter what happens, do not let me go; for anything." He actually knelt for her; making it easier for her to climb on quickly. Once she was mounted properly; he hook his jaw through the strap of his bag and swung it over his head and neck; he knew it would settle itself eventually; and that she would shift it while he swam.

Back to the water now; taken at a full sprint and leap; he was aiming for all the speed he could; no thought given to hiding from sight. He needed to go go go, not stop until they where with Demi; until he could show Nanalie her mother was safe; and that he could see for himself. He didn't share the telekinetic abilities they had; he was completely blind to it all; so he had felt nothing of her agitation. One of the rare moments he hated his 'disability'; even if that disability is what let him live as long as he had; long enough to meet the people he knew and loved.

Head in the game, Flynn. Get there, make sure everyone is safe. Fix the problem. Save the day. That's your job.

"Hang on tight!~"

-exit-

Nanalie climbed on quickly, not wasting a moment of time. She was careful while he swam to keep both his and her own bag out of the water. Her gaze remained fixated on the direction that they were headed in, worry clearly showing on her face. She kept herself holding on tightly to her father, and herself focused enough to afford a little attention to the things around her such as the fish and such in the water: but mainly, she kept her gaze focused on the goal ahead of them...

-Exit-