Private Finished Make a Splash

Somehow, someway Jae always found himself in the ocean surrounding Manta Carlos. He could think of a variety of reasons for it: the water was a comfort, he felt confident in mer form, he could drift and be alone with his thoughts. The list went on. Today, the water was warmer than it's been in months (though he supposed still cold by human standards) and that warmth energized him. The beach of the city's waterfront was but a thin line on the horizon, broken by the occasional boat. The teen had pulled a leaf from the dolphin's book and strives to see how high he could jump from the water.

Jae drifted close to the ocean bottom, the shimmering surface far above. Then he rocketed up, and up towards the light and shot out of the water almost a dozen feet up. Water streamed behind him like a ribbon. Jae bent in half, arms pointed to the surface and smoothly dived back in. It was progress! But he could go higher. . . Jae swam back down and considered the right angle to approach the surface. What if he tried going straight up? Jae took aim, and swam straight up. He broke the surface with a burst of water and for a breathless moment felt as though he were suspended in the air. Gravity, being consistent, pulled him back down as he tried to twist about to return to the water with another clean dive.

It was a rough return, his right side smacking the water smartly. The teen winced below the surface and rubbed his scaled waist. Okay, maybe he shouldn't try going straight up again. He didn't think he went any higher doing that anyways. Jae decided break from jumping for the moment. It's been a while since he felt the water around him for any threats.

@PixelatedGlory (sorry this took me a while to get up!)

Jae barely had the time to let out a startled cry as a blast of water sent him spinning. The teen corrected himself with a flick of his tail, but was left with a powerful ringing in his ear. What the hell was that? Jae felt something large in the water right where the impact had been. Furious, he swam over to find a wyvern of all things chomping on fish.

"Mi-chin-nom!" Jae shouted, and boldly got in the wyvern's face. Without even meaning too Jae fanned his fins to make himself look bigger. "What were you thinking! You could have hit me!" Though, Jae looked like he was hit already. The bruising on his face has faded some, but still quite noticeable.

Jae winced at the roar and that was the moment he knew he screwed up. Maybe getting in a big wyvern's face was not his best idea. Okay, it was a really bad idea. The teen held his ground, even as he closed his fins to take on a less aggressive stance. A reasonable part of his brain said to apologize and move on, but his stubborn side kept him in place. "You hit the water like a truck! It hurt!" Even now his ears continued to ring.

The teen winced again and finally seemed to deflate. His hand went to his bruise. "I. . . sorry." He said. Like a switch was flipped, Jae lost all his stubborn pride and turned almost meek in exchange. "I'm sorry."

Jae watched the other lower his fins, but stayed tense as they circled him like a shark. The teen twisted around, keeping Alexis in sight. And got splashed in the face for it. "I don't want to fight." Jae said. The teen wouldn't call himself a pacifist, as he would defend himself if needed.

The teen watched the mist drift over the surface and chided himself for getting in a wyvern's face. Jae had no idea what kind of powers the other had. "Ah. . . my ears hurt. . . but I'm otherwise alright." The ringing was starting to fade, even. "I'm. . . I'm not going to call the cops on you. You probably didn't even know I was there."

Jae laughed nervously at the sight of the other's toothy grin. All those teeth. . . "I. . . yes. I was blowing off steam." Jae said, his tail swishing enough to keep him steadily afloat. "Jumps to be specific." He recalled he was starting to make real progress on the technique, before the whole sudden arrival of a hungry wyvern.

"I'm Jae. I don't usually meet anyone out here either." He said, leaving off that he purposefully avoided others while in the water. It was strange, and he couldn't explain it, but the sight of other merfolk in the water made him nervous. So, the teen used his powers to stay far from their sight.