Booze on the Beach

After they had left the community centre, Xavier quickly stopped into a store to grab a few bottles. Not long after they left, he had casually dropped that it was in fact his 18th birthday. He decided to tell Risky to go on ahead a bit with Dani while he bought the alcohol, he just needed a minute because of the worsening headache. It also helped if it didn’t look like he was just buying alcohol for someone below 18. Which was exactly what he was doing, but still.

By the time they arrived to his dorm, there was already a sitter waiting. Xavier had an entire network by now, since he almost always couldn’t be at his dorm at this time. Instead, he would be down at the beach. Despite it being his birthday, that day would be no different. Ever since Xavier’s living arrangement had to be... adjusted, the dorm that he ‘lived’ at was close to the sea. Meant it would be a quick trip from the dorm.

He carried the bag with the bottles, a variety of decently cheap alcohol. Should taste fine enough though. But he also brought along a backpack which he quickly grabbed from the dorm. It would probably seem a bit odd that when Xavier mentioned that if they hung out, no beaches, but here they were at a beach.

It became a bit hard to particularly concentrate by this point, so he didn’t even process exactly what he would next do. It would just be muscle memory by this point. Xavier would’ve handed the bag with the bottles to Risky, and dump the backpack onto the ground. Then, he would take off his jacket to stuff into his bag, followed by his gloves. Then he would take off his shirt. It would take him a second of process before he immediately looked at Risky with a very concerned look. “O-Oh, I... Well, uh... I really should’ve explained this before we got here...” Xavier would usually be pretty casual about this thing, but only really with people he actually knew. He’d only met Risky that day, and he was immediately a bit flustered by what she might gather from this.

@Sashi

Xavier internally panicked. Of course his dehydrated ass just completely forgot that someone else was there, someone who barely knew him, and he just started stripping in front of them. He rubbed his face with a groan. “Trust me when I say this, it is far easier to just show than it is to explain.” He rubbed the back of his neck, an embarrassed look on his face. He felt bad about having not explained it. “Besides... I don’t think I can rationally explain it right now, I think I’m on the verge of passing out.” There was no lie. Essentially getting hit with the very rapid effects of dehydration was not fun.

He kicked off his boots, leaving them by the backpack, along with his sock, but thankfully didn’t remove anymore than that. Everyday Xavier praised the fact that clothes that changed as someone shifted existed. He walked over to the water’s edge, this particular spot had become where he frequented because it was a drop off point. It meant he could just lift himself out rather than drag when he left.

First, he sat down and lowered his legs into the water. Then he pushed himself into the water, taking a moment to swim in place. Every part of him hated this. Despite the fact that drowning couldn’t logically happen now, he still remembered. He still remembered it and hated being in the ocean water. But, he had to if he didn’t want to die. Finally, he took off the human shape charm and placed it on the land in front of him. Xavier let himself sink a bit so half of his face was submerged, perhaps in a way of hiding it, but a quick glance would clearly see how his legs were now replaced with a tail.

Xavier kind of kept his face half submerged as he watched Marissa so clearly look confused. Eventually, he swam back up a bit to cross his arms on the ground, then rest his chin on his arms. “At least you didn’t say mermaid. I get enough of that from Dani.” He laughed, although it sounded ever so slightly bitter.

His eyebrows furrowed into a frown, and he closed his eyes as he listened. “The reason I don’t like beaches is the same as to why I got go to them.” He spoke as he opened his eyes again, but a small frown remained. “It’s a long story. One which I am too sober to tell.” Xavier dropped the frown to instead laugh. Although it appeared like he was joking, the laugh almost seemed hollow and empty.

With a small tilt of his head, and a flash of a grin, he chuckled some more. It sounded only a little more genuine. “Glad to hear you were worried about me, Risky.” Xavier snickered a little more. “I’ve basically got to hydrate my body every 6 hours. Fresh water, stuff like swimming pools and bath water, doesn’t cut it for me really.” He decided he would at least explain a bit of why he had to strip right in front of someone he only met that day.

Xavier kept his chin rested on his arms, looking up at Risky from where he swam in place. A part of him kept waiting for a reaction. For her to get weirded out by what he was, and walk away. Or for her to realise what he had done, and leave him like many of his friends had before. Xavier couldn’t help feel like every person he knew were at constant risk of leaving him, something that had plagued his thoughts ever since he got himself involved with a stupid prank.

Xavier tried to expect a lot of reactions, perhaps whatever happened would hurt less then. However, he did not expect what Marissa did next.

It took a moment for him to process what was going on, his face initially confused by her taking off her jacket. He thought maybe she was a bit warm, but then she took off more clothes. If Xavier hadn’t been embarrassed about how he started to casually strip in front of someone only moments before, he was now most certainly flustered. “W-Wait, what are you doing???” Mostly, he sounded confused, perhaps a little concerned. Quickly he raised his arms to try and cover his eyes a bit, partly cause he could feel his face get a bit warm.

After a few more moments where he attempted to avoid looking at her, Xavier gave up and dropped his arms. “Could have given me more warning...” He grumbled a little, the tip of his tail flicked a bit agitatedly beneath the water. “Besides, I thought we came out to get drunk anyways.” He laughed a little. “I don’t need anymore time, what’s that supposed to mean?” His voice even sounded like he had a smirk, with an eyebrow raised as he spoke.
This wouldn’t be the first time Xavier had encountered alcohol, or being drunk. Something that happened due to being friends with the wrong crowd meant he encountered such things quite a while before he turned 18.

Xavier huffed as he crossed his arms again, placing them on the ledge in front of him as he rested his chin on his arms once again. “You don’t even seem to be swimming! You’re just... lounging on the beach.” As he spoke, he totally did not have a pout and sulk. A part of him wanted to be the one that lounged on the beach, but he had to stay in the water. At least in this form.

The bottle almost smashed against Xavier’s face. His hand eye coordination and reflexes used to be excellent, but constant sleep deprivation meant he had dulled a bit. Luckily, he just about caught the bottle before it smashed against anything.

“I’ve seen a girl in a bikini, yes!” His answer didn’t sound convincing. Xavier had seen a girl in a bikini, it was just he usually had a bit more warning beforehand. It just startled him a bit, since it completely caught him off guard. To distract himself, he opened his own bottle and took a drink. From how he handled the bottle, and drank it with little difficulty, seemed to show he had experience with alcohol. If that hadn’t been enough of a sign, he shook his head. “No, not my first. Drunk a bit with old friends, used fake ID... all that fun stuff.” Xavier just left out the fact he had been drinking a bit more recently.