[LA5] - Beach Shark [Dalkirk Ocean Beach - Expecting]

[Tranq Sayzin]

The fin slowly rose from the water, quickly moving towards the shore. It crested the incoming waves as the sun beat down on the sands and the crystal clear water.

Leaping from the beneath the surface, the Karkarodon lunged up, water droplets running down his scaly skin as he walked up the shoreline towards where the towels has been set out.

"Feels good. Been too long since I've seen any waves." He stood tall above the sand, torso exposed, the off white underbelly showing from his chin down to disappearing into the waist of the leggings of the bodysuit of his armor, appropriate for swimming. Broud shoulders, lean physique looking as carved stone.

[Leah kuso]

It had been an odd day. She started with breakfast and a recruitment drive, then gone to listen to her boss plot a bloodied attack...and then lead to a date with a Karkarodon at the beach?

Sitting on the beach in a white bikini, she watched the shark swim. It was pretty impressive, the man swam super fast. Leah wasn't much of a swimmer, she knew she'd be in the way, so for now she just passed him the towel and chuckled.

"You swam like your life depended on it Tranq" she laughed "has it really been that long? I haven't been swimming...well ever."

[Tranq Sayzin]

"Not a lot of places to swim while on a ship. And not every planet has different biomes. A lot of single environments, or they have oceans you wouldn't want to swim in." He took the towel, patting at his torso and face to blot the excess water off. His webbed toes buried into the sand, feeling the sensation of it. The warmth coming down in the dying afternoon sun.

"Have you ever tried?" He asked, his brow raising, though without hair, it just looked like the muscle in his forehead tensing. "C'mon." A hand extended to the delicate twi'lek.

[Leah kuso]

"Uh...never" Leah said honestly, taking the hand nervously, using his strength to pull her lithe form up "don't really want to drown either. Is it easy to swim?"

She looked out to the water, and then back at the man.

"You're kinda used to the water, I'm a land girl."

[Tranq Sayzin]

"It's easy to learn. Bodies... want to float. Breathing in air, you're not as dense as the water around you. The only problem is when you can't breathe underwater. Your body wants to breathe, and forces itself, just taking in water into your lungs." He pondered for a moment on it. "But learning to swim can help avoid that. And also knowing what your limits are. Can't drown if you don't put yourself in a position to drown. Like not going out too far that the riptide takes ya." He pulled as she lifted, arm tensing slightly as he began to lead her to the water.

"No one starts with a 10 kilometer swim on day 0. You learn first by treading." The waves cascaded up their feet as they walked closer and closer to the waterline, the tide moving up, then falling away. "I promise, you aren't gonna drown on my watch."

[Leah kuso]

"You sure I can't just paddle at the edges?" Leah said with a small nervous chuckle "i'm glad you're not expecting me to swim that much! I'm not all that strong you know."

She bit her lip as the water lapped at her feet. It was a little colder than she'd expected!

[Tranq Sayzin]

"Paddling at the edges is fine. It's just fun." He tried to ease her nervousness. Never letting of of her hand as they slowly waded in, he caught the lip bite, and admired her for a long moment.

It seemed the cold of the water didn't terribly bother him, but he knew how it could be for others.

"Even just laying in the tide can be relaxing."

[Leah kuso]

"I could totally do sitting in the tides. As long as it doesn't like, try to pull me in" Leah laughed, kicking up a bit of the water. She was getting a little used to the cold!

"It's pretty out here though. I like looking out to sea and seeing the setting sun reflecting on the water. At least in paintings, don't think I've seen it in person before."

[Tranq Sayzin]

"It's a good place to collect your thoughts. To just be in the presence of the Universe, and be still. Even with everything going on around us, it's tranquil." He replied, calmly regarding her. His eyes fell onto her face, finding his gaze lingering there. "It's almost enough to forget about life for awhile, and just be in the moment. Balance, really." His words seemed more string of consciousness, as if he was distracted. Likely by her.

[Leah kuso]

"I see..." Leah said thoughtfully. Some of his words had stuck in her mind. Just be with everything..

She let go of his hand, moving to sit in the water, letting it just lap at her. She took a small calming breath, closing her eyes and just let herself feel everything around her. The water, the creatures crawling around. The world. She felt connected to everything, and it was wonderful. At least going by the serene look on her face.

[Tranq Sayzin]

He didn't say anything as he watched her relax into the tide. The Karkarodon's gaze just followed her as she moved, just looking at her.

He was struck by how attractive she was, how at one with everything she seemed to be now that she was taking the time. Tranq's heart beat a little harder, as he stood beside her, hands idle at his side.

[Leah kuso]

"You know" Leah said quietly, not moving "someone once told me the water is really nice to just sit in. Maybe you should join me."

He couldn't see it, but there was a smile on her face.

[Tranq Sayzin]

"Oh. Right." He chuckled, sliding down to sit next to her. His knees bent slightly, leaning forward as his hands rested on his knees. He didn't notice how close he had moved to sit right next to her.

Not at first anyway.

"This is nice."

[Leah kuso]

"It is" Leah nodded, speaking softly "I can feel the water lapping, and well...does it sound weird to say I feel in tune with it all? Like I'm a apart of it all."

She peered over at him, curious.

[Tranq Sayzin]

"That's because you are. We all are." He replied, his gaze still focused on her, before looking up to her eyes. "We're all connected. We're bound together, united, by the Galaxy, by a singular energy field." He recalled the earliest words at the temple, one of the first lessons.

Feel it, you can. Flowing through you, the Galaxy speaks, it does... the words of the wizened master who often took the time to teach the younglings, his pointed ears emoting with his words. Patient. Caring. Understanding. Gentle.

Master Yoda often was the Master who taught the most about life. Tranq hoped he had made it out okay.

"The Force flows through everything, and can teach us much about what we are doing here."

[Leah kuso]

"I thought I was supposed to be the crazy one" Leah commented with a small chuckle "an energy field linking everyone together? That sounds pretty crazy. Where did you hear that?" she peeked at him.

[Tranq Sayzin]

It took him from the moment, causing him to stumble internally. Had he let his guard down so much? Did he get so entwined in the moment that he forgot how dangerous the Galaxy was to people like him? He was a wanted being, the same as anyone who could use the Force, or were tied to the Jedi. He watched her reactions for a moment, before finally responding.

"A teacher... a long time ago. A very dear one, who taught me so much about the understanding of things. But that was such a different time and place."

[Leah kuso]

"Huh. A teacher? You don't seem old enough to have a 'long time ago' really" Leah smiled at him, placing a hand on his "I'm sorry if I've caused a bad memory. I've lost people too, so I know how you feel. I sometimes think I can hear my fathers voice telling me something or guiding me. Which is impossible of course, but I've always trusted my gut instinct on those kinda things and it never steers me wrong."

[Tranq Sayzin]

"It's not impossible. When we lose someone, they're never really gone." Without thinking, his hand moved as she placed her hand on his, intertwining his webbed fingers with hers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "They stay with us, through the Force. We can feel them, hear them... trusting your feelings is usually a better bet than just trusting your senses."

He chuckled slightly. "Any time before the war seems so long ago."

[Leah kuso]

"That's a nice way to think of it. That they're still with you" Leah said with a thoughtful expression "my father wasn't the best, but I'd like to think he's stayed around guiding his daughter to not make the same mistakes he did. I'll learn from the lessons too."

She peered at the man again. Just how old was he?!

"The war? You were in it?"