Albert
*Ah, Lake Kanzu. After all this time.*

*It felt odd to be back after years of avoiding the place. Or anywhere outside of Tritetheas, really. But lately, she'd felt cooped up. Not that there was anything necessarily wrong with the beautiful underwater city, full of (what she suspected, because she never came close enough to see the intentions in their eyes) were interesting locals with colorful, bright scales and equally bright personalities.*

*But she wanted nothing to do with them. She would rather stay home and participate in one of her many hobbies. She thought everything was fine. Until she finally got sick of the constant painting, the joyless tapestry. She needed... New inspiration.*

*So she left, and came back to Lake Kanzu. Just for a while, until she got inevitably homesick and returned. Iara's hands felt at the sand, digging in deep. The sand here felt different, but she was familiar with it. She sat waist deep in the water, keeping herself close to the shore, because she knew that if she went any further she would get carried away and not notice any... Approaching people. The mermaid sighed, picking up a smooth rock from the inside of the water.* 
*She knew that anything she could get from the lake she could get from Tritetheas. But it still felt nice to leave... Once in a while.*

*The only thing that hadn't change was the unpleasant feeling of breathing... Above water. Like her chest tensed. She cleared her throat, readjusting the necklace around her neck. Neptune swam near the end of her tail. She chuckled.*

"..Are you... Content with our change with environment as well?" 
*He only stopped to look at her for a moment, then continuing his idle loop.*
"Mm. I am as well. Quite content, actually."
Juan
𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐑 | 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓
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Sometimes the Kishfire heat was too much, even for him. Callen couldn't remember the last time he'd left the city for his own enjoyment and not for a job. Alynthi wasn't too far. He was able to easily hitch a ride over. How he'd be getting back.. Well, he should probably start preserving his energy for the tedious trudge back to the sandy slums. What better place to do so than a lovely little lakeside? 

Callen couldn't swim, neither could his rat. That wasn't exactly much of a concern where he was from. The thief kept making false promises to himself that one day he would learn the art of swimming; it never happened. 

The surface of the water rippled as small rocks skipped across it. The drow watched as his stones sank slowly beneath the water after coming to a stop, before reaching to skip another one. A couple feet away was a piece of driftwood perched just above the water, that a curious little rat was scoping out. The rodent dug its greedy nose into little crevices to try and find nonexistent treasure. "You fall in and I'm not saving you." He said to the animal, who squeaked back in return. 

If only animals knew how to listen to instructions. Callen's attention was drawn back to the driftwood as he heard a rather distressed squeak, and then a little splash. *That damn rat.* His eyes grew wide in a panic, fumbling over to the waters edge in an attempt to pry the driftwood up and out of the water that the rat had been swept under. By this point, he had noticed the mermaid in the distance, and desperately waved a hand. "Don't just sit there! Help me!"
Albert
*The scales on her tail rippled, her eyes darting to the direction of the jarring noise of somebody else... Referring to her. She knew it was impossible that she'd be alone in Lake Kanzu. But it was still just.. Weird. She watched the desperate person by the water's edge, and then she noticed the little animal in the water.*

*..She's never seen one of those before...*
*Ah! She snapped out of her trance. No time to dwell on land species. It's drowning. If there's one thing she's not, it's cruel towards animals. Iara sighed. She knew this meant she'd have to interact with a stranger in a way...*

*She dragged her hands out of the wet sand of the lake floor, letting herself a little deeper into the lake to swim faster. She dipped into the refreshing water of the lake and swam towards the piece of driftwood and the frantic little anymore. Within seconds, she had the squeaking creature in her hands, up to her waist in water to keep it somewhat dry.*

*She shuddered at the feeling of it. Why was it... Was it supposed to feel like that?? Nothing underwater had this texture... She knew some animals had fur, but she'd never felt it wet.*

*It was certainly unpleasant, especially with how much the animal squirmed in her cold hands. Iara rushed over to the edge of the lake where the other person stood, quickly setting the animal down on dry ground and dipping her hands back in the water.*

"Your... Thing."

*She looked at the odd animal, observing it's little... Paws? Hands?*
*...Eugh..*
Juan
𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐑 | 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓
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Reaching further out to try and snag the rodent from the water, the iridescent scales caught his eye as the woman swam over. A wave of relief washed over him as the mermaid scooped his little friend up, Callen beckoning her to hand the rat over. "*Yesyesyes—* Give him here!" Taking the squirming rodent into his hands, the drow furrowed his brows as the rat shook itself off, looking rather comically distressed as its fine hair stood up on its back.

Silent for a moment, Callen brought the rat to his cloaked chest to try and warm it up. He then looked over at the woman from the water, and sat himself down in the sand. "..Thank you." He said, clearing his throat awkwardly. The drow seemed to have a personal connection with the rat. Normally, Callen's sharp and witty demeanor outshined the rest of him, but when it came to his rat? His guard had been let down. "Sorry about ruining your *Meditation thing* Or whatever you people do. But— thanks." He'd seen mermaids before, but never this up close.

He just couldn't stop staring at her tail. "Oh, and - he's not a *Thing*. This is Ferg. He's a rat. Now how about you tell me your name? Or are you going to make me guess." 

Once the rat had dried off enough, the rodent crawled onto Callen's shoulder on the inside of his cloak, simply resting there for the time being.
Albert
*Iara gives Callen the same stare she was told was impolite and rude as a child for a little bit, then let her eyes drift away.*
*..It's like clockwork, how she goes from curious and invasive in a way to judgemental and condescending.*

*She hoisted herself up to sit on the sand near him, flipping her curls and somewhat glaring at him.* "Iara Larimar Alannis."
*She gave him the up and down once over.* "...And you are...?"

*Her blue hues scales rippled once again, tail splashing around in the water ever so slightly, a mannerism that only merfolk would know was nerves. She didn't have to try with the mannerism of her tail. It was rare anyone outside of Tritetheas tried to figure it out. Mermaid tails were much like cat tails, built in with little gestures and mannerisms and shapes that indicated something about their feelings. Iara absentmindly felt at the small patch where scales had gone... Missing.*

"..Rat? Whatever may that be?" *She fiddled with her necklace, Neptune idly swimming around the area of her tail.* "He looks odd." *She thought back on the distinctive features of the little animal.*
"I haven't seen quite like it before." 
"And no, you did not interrupt anything.. *We* People don't meditate in water. We would be meditating all the time."

*She rolled her eyes. Landfolk... They really had no clue. But this landfolk... He didn't seem like much of a threat in her eyes. A bit silly, honestly. With his little 'rat' and whatnot.*
Juan
𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐑 | 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓
┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

Callen managed to catch onto the mermaid's tone, snickering to himself and shrugging it off. Her name rolled off the tongue. It was pretty, definitely not a name from around here. Looks like these two weren't exactly where they were supposed to be. "I'm Callen."

His eyes then trailed down to her tail once more, admiring the blue scales. Callen tried to imagine how his own dark skin would look if littered with such scales. He took note of missing patch of scales on her tail, and removed his gaze altogether. When Iara asked about the rat, the drow nearly scoffed before realizing that folks from the water weren't nearly as accustomed to life on land. "It's.. A little hard to explain. Here, you can touch him." Holding the rat out in his bandaged hands and arms for the girl to see, the rodent simply groomed itself with its two front paws and looked up at her. 

"He is pretty odd looking, isn't he?" Callen smiled, the scar on his cheek tugging up into his smile line. The bandages on his arms had gotten damp from the incident — his skin starting to show through the wet fabric. Normally that would throw him for a loop, but this girl.. He doubts that she'd understand. 

"He may be small and a little ugly, but he's tough. Been everywhere together, him and I." He seemed rather proud of his rodent friend.
Albert
*She stared down at the little thing, a bit dazzled. Why does it look like that? Her finger twitched, reaching over to feel the top of the rat's head. It was even weirder when it was slightly drier.*
"I have my own... Animal friend. Though, I must admit, he is not nearly as hair nor as tiny as this one." *Her hand dipped into the water to pet neptune's smooth head.*

"Oh, my." *Iara exclaimed, leaning down to get a closer look at the rat. She ends up finally noticing the bandages.* "I appreciate your accessorizing." *He's right, she doesn't understand. She thinks it's an acessory.*
*Iara took her finger off the little animal.* "I must ask, why didn't you jump into the water and save him yourself?" *Iara looked back at the clear lake water.* "This lake is tame. No currents or waves, relatively shallow." *She liked Lake Kanzu. It paled in comparison to the ocean in depth. A break from some of the dark spots underwater near nepsta.*

"It is quite the easy swim." *The sea-maiden mentioned. Of course it was easy for her. She knew... Landfolk didn't have the aquatic prowess that tritons and merfolk and sirens had, but she'd seen them swim decently before.*
Juan
𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐑 | 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓
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The rat sat still as the girl touched the top of its head. When Iara mentioned her own animal companion, Callen curiously peered his head over the water, observing the animal with a confused expression. "Is it a shark? I would've thought them to be.. Bigger." He would've reached in to try and pet the lemon shark, but..

His *Accessories* Weren't exactly built for the water. Back in Kishfire, he didn't have to worry about that. Callen awkwardly lowered his arms into his lap, keeping the rat sat comfortably in his palms. "Oh- well," The drow paused like he didn't want to explain himself. 

After a moment, he drew in a quiet breath. "...I don't know how to swim. I never learned. It doesn't come naturally to me like it does to you. I'd rather not both of us drown from trying to save the other." He gestured to his rat, who was now brushing its little paws through its fur. Callen's expression seemed duller. He often wishes what life would be like outside of his day to day activities. Maybe if he had actually learned to swim, he could travel across the oceans to the unknown. 

"Where I come from, you don't exactly need to worry about swimming anywhere. It's dry, hot. No water in sight for miles." It isn't like landfolk *Couldn't* Swim. Callen simply never learned how, as embarrassing as it may seem.