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“If I come into the water, will that make you happy?” Jay asked, standing just on the shore, waves lapping against the black sand. Her boots left footprints that filled with water the moment she stepped away.
Gillion stared at her from the water, neck-deep in the clear lake and eyes wide. A small grin spread across his face and he nodded, his tail caused a ripple along the surface. Jay heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. Gillion made a gurgling noise that Jay had no idea how to decipher.
“Alright, alright,” She sighed again, pulling her boots off and removing her jacket and items from her belt that she didn’t necessarily want to get wet. She placed it all on the sand just out of reach from the waves. She tightened her ponytail and glanced back at the lake.
Gillion had disappeared below the surface. She almost considered staying on the beach—Gillion surely would get distracted soon enough and forget about his request. But, a few seconds later, out popped his head, staring at Jay with the same puppy-dog-eyed expression. His ears twitched and the fins shifted.
“I’m coming,” she held her hands up in front of her chest in a placating gesture, shuffling closer to the lake. She shivered as she stepped into the water, a jolt of cold water against her skin.
“You didn’t tell me it was cold!” She exclaimed. Gillion looked almost sheepish.
“I did not realize,” he said, his voice hoarse sounding and gurgly. Jay took a deep breath, steeling herself and trying to stop the shivering before it began. She waded further into the water until it reached her hips, Gillion was still a few feet ahead of her with his eyes sparkling with excitement.
He shifted back and forth, his hair trailing in the water behind him as he kept his gills just under the surface.
Jay stopped, the water was freezing especially for it being the middle of summer. What kind of temperature does this place have? Gillion didn’t seem to be bothered by it, but that gave no reassurance. He was from the trench and Jay didn’t even want to imagine how cold those waters were.
Gillion licked his lips, he swam a bit closer to Jay, his tail flicking back and forth, fins rippling with the water. He rolled onto his back then dove under the water, splashing Jay in the face. She spluttered, wiping water out of her eyes.
“You’re enjoying yourself,” she commented as Gillion surfaced once more.
“The water is a bit on the fresh side,” Gillion started, “But enjoyable nonetheless.”
The water was up to her chest now. Jay held her hands out in the water, running her fingers over the surface and watching the ripples.
“Oh, you might want to—”
Gillion’s voice was cut off as Jay stepped forward into nothingness. She let out a cry of surprise as she sank below the surface for a second, getting a mouthful of unpleasant tasting water. She pulled her head up, coughing and spitting water out of her mouth, her hair plastered to her face as she wiped the water out of her eyes.
“My apologies,” Gillion swam over to her, gripping her arms as she stepped back onto the sand, “I should have warned you sooner.”
Jay huffed, blowing water out of her nose and pushing her wet bangs out of her face. She held onto Gillion’s wrists as she coughed.
“It’s okay…” Jay muttered, she caught her breath and looked up at Gillion, “I’m okay.”
Gillion loosened his grip on Jay’s arms but didn’t let go. He sank deeper into the water until it was only his eyes and the top of his head peeking up. Jay chuckled, wiping her face one more time and putting a hand on Gillion’s head.
“Just give me a little warning next time, I’m a strong swimmer,” she said. Gillion nodded, a hint of apprehension in his eyes, but he let go of her. Jay shuffled to the edge of the sand once again, her toes going over the edge of the drop. At least she didn’t have to worry about getting used to the cold water anymore.
Dropping suddenly in a lake was enough to shock anyone's system enough to get them used to the temperature. Jay swam out a bit farther past the drop, treading water close to the shore, but deep enough where she was unable to touch the ground.
Gillion swam near her, continuing with his playful tricks like rolling onto his back before diving underwater but Jay could feel his eyes watching her. Gillion had apparently taken Pretzel out of her orb as well since the small pink frogtopus was swimming nearby, rolling in the water in a similar fashion to Gillion and twirling. She chirped and chittered at Jay whenever she surfaced near her.
Jay chuckled, pushing on the water to cause a wave which rolled Pretzel backwards. She chittered happily.
The sun was beating down on the surface of the water causing a shining reflection. Despite the heat of the air, Jay still shivered as she swam lazily in the water. She laid down on her back, spreading her arms and staring up at the sky.
She wasn’t as strong of a swimmer as Gillion. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to compare to him, but she still thought herself decent.
Jay didn’t try the trick that Gillion did, not wanting to get any more lake water in her mouth. As she reclined on her back, kicking her feet occasionally, Jay felt fins brushing against her back and sat up with a splash.
Gillion poked his head up and grinned, sharp teeth bared in the way that made him look like a very dangerous but happy puppy. His ears flicked again, water dripping off his hair.
“You scared me,” Jay said, she pressed a hand to her heart dramatically, “Brushing up against me like that.”
Gillion stuck his tongue out between his teeth and shrugged, his fins flared out and a light flush spread across his cheeks “my regrets.” He did not seem too guilty about it.
“Are there other fish in this lake?” Jay asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer to the question. While the water was clear, the bottom was dark and she couldn’t see very far down.
“A few,” Gillion said, “not many.” He gurgled as he dropped his chin below the water. Jay felt something else brush her arm and looked over to see Pretzel clinging to her skin. She pulled herself up onto Jay’s shoulder and chirped, gesturing in a direction with one tentacle.
Jay sighed and paddled in the direction that Pretzel had pointed. Pretzel rolled back and forth around Jay as she sunk back into the water. Jay sensed that Gillion was swimming behind or underneath her as well.
The lake wasn’t very big, she could definitely swim to one side and back without breaking a sweat, but Jay had no idea how deep it was. She was currently close to the middle of the lake, kicking her feet lazily to stay afloat. Gillion’s tail flicked up above the water as he seemed to dive deeper. Pretzel too had disappeared from near Jay and she briefly worried what they were up to.
Jay was unsure of what Prezel had tried to point out over here and began swimming back closer to shore. Her fingers were starting to get numb and she was sure that Chip would be waiting for them at the inn. Gillion had wanted to explore the town and Jay couldn’t say no to a scenic tour.
The lake just happened to be part of that exploration.
Chip had stayed back for some reason, moping in his room and refusing to join them. He might show up eventually, depending on how long they had been gone. By glancing up at the sky, Jay figured they hadn’t been gone for much more than an hour.
Jay kept near the shore but still glanced out at the water for where Gillion would pop up next. Momentarily forgetting that Gillion could breathe underwater, a flicker of worry ebbed its way into Jay’s chest at how long it had been since Gillion had surfaced. She quickly quelled that fear, knowing that Gillion would be fine.
“Jay!” Gillion popped his head up right next to Jay. She nearly jumped out of her skin, not knowing how she hadn’t noticed him approaching.
“Gillion!” she responded, playing it off like he hadn’t just startled her half to death. Gillion grinned, rocking back and forth in the water, his tail swishing back and forth to keep him afloat.
“I have returned bearing gifts most interesting,” Gillion insisted, he pulled his hands up out of the water, opening his fists to reveal many small rocks and shells, some of them shimmered with the water sliding off them, other’s had a dull, bubbly texture to them. Gillion was practically vibrating with excitement, looking up at Jay to gauge her reaction.
Jay smiled and chuckled, “Those are beautiful.”
“Indeed!” Gillion said, he rolled the rocks around in his hands like dice, “I found them at the bottom of the lake.”
“So that’s where you’ve been?” Jay asked, tilting her head to the side. She picked up one of the rocks in Gillion’s hand, turning it over and examining it. Gillion nodded.
Pretzel appeared with a chirp, she cradled her own shiny rock in her tentacles, clutching it close to her small body as she rolled around along the surface of the water. Jay chuckled at the sight.
“I think we should start heading back to the inn,” Jay said, glancing up at the sky, “Chip will probably be waiting for us.”
Almost as if he was summoned by the mere mention of his name, Jay heard a voice shout from the shore.
“So this is where you two have been?” Chip called, pressing his hands to his hips. Gillion curled his fingers around the rocks and turned to the shore with an innocent expression. Jay waved at him, wiggling her fingers.
“Chip!” Gillion leaned back in the water, grinning at Chip. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, nudging Jay’s things with his shoe.
“You two have been gone forever,” Chip said, he stepped closer to the shore, just barely out of reach from the waves, “I’ve searched practically the whole town until someone directed me towards here.”
“I was just saying we should head back to the inn,” Jay insisted, “we were having fun.”
“I see that,” Chip sat down on the sand, staring at the two of them in the water.
“You should have joined us,” Gillion swam towards where Chip was sitting, stopping as close as he could get with his gills still under the water. He pressed himself flat on the sand, his tail sticking up from the water, the fins dragging against the surface and causing ripples.
Jay pulled herself out of the water as she got closer to the shore, she made sure to watch for where Pretzel was, knowing she’d stick with them but still wanting to make sure. She saw the pink blob near the surface by Gillion’s feet. Her clothes were soaked through and dripping, sticking to her skin and causing sand to cling to her. Her hair was heavy as it plastered to her back and face. Chip scooted away from her.
Gillion held his hands out, opening them to display the rocks to Chip. He looked at them with interest that Jay couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not. He said nothing but there was a mutual agreement that when someone showed you rocks, you had to look.
When Gillion held his hands out further, Chip furrowed his eyebrows, holding his own hands out. Gillion dumped the rocks into his open palms, pulling his hands back under the water to push himself up slowly.
Water spilled out of his mouth, running down his chin and from his nose. Jay turned her head away, letting him get himself adjusted without prying eyes. She figured if she had to go through the same thing every time she got in or out of the water it would get a bit embarrassing.
Chip rolled the rocks around in his hands, dumping them into his pockets, scooting back to give room for when Gillion would inevitably heave himself out of the water dramatically as he liked to do. It just took him a bit to adjust to no longer breathing in the water. He had said it was uncomfortable and a little painful if he did it too abruptly and preferred not to do that.
As predicted, Gillion pulled himself out of the water, his claws scraping against the sand as he practically flopped onto the beach. His tail caused more water to splash as he pulled himself up and out. He coughed a few times, spitting some extra water out of his mouth and taking a deep breath.
“You good?” Chip asked, patting his shoulder, he wrinkled his nose. Jay wrung the water out of her hair and what she could of her shirt.
Gillion nodded, sitting up and moving hair out of his face. Pretzel chirped at the edge of the water and Gillion scooped her up, placing her in her water orb. She rolled around, the rock she held clinking against the glass.
“I can’t believe you two,” Chip pushed himself to his feet, brushing sand off his pants, “having fun without me.” He extended a hand to Jay.
“You didn’t want to come with,” Jay accepted his offered hand, letting him pull her up to her feet. She shivered, wrapping her arms around her torso as she grabbed her things, slipping her boots on.
“I thought you were just going to explore the town,” Chip huffed, helping Gillion to his feet as well. The Triton shook his head, excess water from his hair splashing both Jay and Chip as he shook himself out. Chip spluttered, wiping his face on the back of his hand.
“And what if we found a bar or something?” Jay asked, she elbowed Chip in the side.
“You would know where to find me.”
They began their walk to the inn. Sneaking out of the lake area that was most likely not something residential. But Gillion had dragged her to it and what was the harm in letting him swim for a bit. She hadn’t intended to get involved.
People turned to stare at the three of them as they walked down the street, Jay sopping wet and trailing water and Gillion naturally wet and also blue was prone to be stared at. He didn’t seem to care, holding his head high and letting Jay lead the way. His tail swished back and forth that Chip had to walk next to him to avoid getting whacked by it.
The innkeeper raised an eyebrow at them as they entered, eyeing the floor where water was being tracked in. But she said nothing, only sighed and turned back to the papers that she had been filing.
Chip shouldered open the door to the room that he and Gillion had to share and shoved Gillion inside. He stumbled in and Chip turned to look at Jay.
“Talk to you in a bit?” Chip asked, looking Jay up and down with a grimace, “might want to clean off.”
Jay gave him a mock salute and rolled her eyes, opening the door to her own room. Chip let out a long breath and shut the door, leaning his back against it for a second.
Gillion was sitting on the chair at the desk in the room, he ran his fingers through his hair and frowned as his claws got snagged on the tangles. His tail twitched, his fins dragging along the floor as it draped off the side of the chair. He looked dirty like he had been digging in the dirt for a while. And by the weight of rocks clinking against each other in Chip’s pocket, he probably had been. There was sand clinging to his skin and sticking to the webbing between his fingers.
“Gill, come here,” Chip waved him over with a sigh, “let me wash your hair.”
“Alright…?” Gillion tilted his head to the side but followed Chip to the bathroom. Chip pointed to the bathtub, it was still a little wet from when Chip had taken a bath earlier. Gillion confusedly stepped over the side of it and sank down in the empty tub.
Chip turned the tap, letting lukewarm water flow into the tub. Gillion curled his knees up to his chest, furrowing his eyebrows as he held a hand under the water.
“Change the temperature as you like, I’ll be quick,” Chip grabbed a stool, pulling it closer to the bathtub. Gillion messed with the tap a little bit, his expression focused. Chip had no idea why he had gotten himself in this situation, it wasn’t like he hadn’t done this before but he still had no reason to be here.
When the tub was halfway full, Chip shut the tap off, telling Gillion to lean back. He cupped his hands in the water and poured it over Gillion’s head, Gillion snorted with amusement, turning to look at Chip. Chip poured another handful of water on him. His tail flicked back and forth happily, causing small splashes in the bathtub.
The inn had some soaps that were provided and Chip took the one that he had used already, lathering his hands and causing bubbles to form. He scrubbed at Gillion’s head, coating his hair with soap and combing his fingers through the soft blue locks. He worked with practiced ease, knowing full well how to detangle long hair.
Gillion hummed, a deep rumble from his chest as he leaned his head back. He ran his own hands through the water, picking sand out from between his fingers and rubbing his arms.
Chip let out a slow breath, scratching lightly at Gillion’s scalp. He tucked his hair back from where it fell in front of his face, making sure to scrub all the dirt and sand out.
He moved carefully, gently, working with calming motions that Chip found were soothing to him as well.
Gillion’s hair was soft, and when it was dry it poofed up in thick fluffy curls. After a while, it frizzed up, especially when they were in battle, but Chip loved to see how his hair was right when it dried. It was hard to believe how threatening he was when he had a head full of turquoise curls.
The bathroom was calm and the water was only slightly warm. Chip wondered if he didn’t like warm water very much. It seemed understandable.
There was a comfortable silence that settled between them, apart from Gillion’s occasional gurgle or hum and Chip’s soft sighs. Chip combed his fingers through Gillion’s hair for a while longer until he was sure that the tangles were out for now. Gillion ran his hands over his fins, sucking in a sharp breath each time he did and managing to unlodge sand and other things from them.
“Lean your head back more and cover your gills so you don’t get soap in them when I rinse out your hair,” Chip told him. Gillion did as he was told, his hands sliding over his neck and tapping to a slight rhythm as he covered his gills. Chip cupped water in his hands, letting the soap rinse out of his hair with each handful. Watching the soap swirl in his hair and drain to the water below.
Gillion’s eyes were closed, his ears flicked and Chip could see the slight rise and fall of his chest. His tail moved back and forth, causing ripples to form on the surface of the tub.
The rest of the soap rinsed out of his hair and Chip gave it another few runs through with his fingers. They had no oils or anything else besides the soap, but if they did Chip would use that too.
“Your hair should be all good,” Chip said, leaning back on the stool, “you can finish cleaning up, however. I’ll be in the other room.”
“Thank you Chip,” Gillion sat up, letting his hands drop away from his neck, “this has been much appreciated.”
“Don’t mention it,” Chip shrugged and let out a huff of amusement. Gillion nodded and watched as Chip left the bathroom, shutting the door behind himself.
As Chip exited, he noticed Jay sprawled out on one of the beds, her arms propped behind her head.
“How’d you get in?” Chip asked, noticing her wet hair and dry clothes.
“You left the door unlocked,” she crossed one leg over the other, “not a very smart thing to do if you ask me.”
“Good thing I’m not asking you,” Chip flopped down on the same bed, leaning on Jay’s legs and forcing her to move.
“You two having a party in there?” Jay sat up, crossing her legs in front of herself. Chip rolled over on his side to look at her.
“I was washing Gill’s hair,” Chip said, and he realized that saying it out loud made it sound a bit silly.
“He likes that,” Jay nodded, “I think it’s like the one comfort he knows about.”
“Who doesn’t like their hair washed?” Chip asked, raising an eyebrow, “I’d even wash your hair too if you let me.”
“I don’t trust you near my hair when one wrong move can ruin a day,” Jay huffed and rolled her eyes.
“Would you trust me with it now?” Chip looked at her slightly damp hair, a pleading look in her eyes. Jay heaved a sigh, scrubbing at her face.
“If it will make you happy.”
Chip beamed, pushing himself up to a sitting position. Jay pulled her hair out of the loose ponytail that she had pulled it back into. Chip scooted so that he was behind Jay, running his fingers experimentally through her hair and gathering it all so that it laid on her back. Jay let out a sigh, this one sounding more content than annoyance.
Chip separated her hair into three sections, his fingers working to bring it into a loose braid. Something that he hoped would be comfortable when she went to sleep soon. Jay leaned back some, wrapping the tie around her hand over and over again. Chip didn’t focus on that, he stared at the red hair in front of himself and worked on hopefully not pulling it.
The sun was starting to dip below the horizon and stars were beginning to shimmer in the sky. Chip felt tired even though they hadn’t really done much all day. It had been a long few hours of traveling before they decided to stop at the nearest island for a restock.
Chip tucked some of Jay’s hair back into the braid as it tried to sneak out. His scarred, calloused hands worked gently and Jay’s fidgeting slowly died down.
“Tie please,” Chip said, reaching the end of the braid. He held one hand out, waiting until Jay placed the ribbon in his hand. He wrapped it around the remaining hair and tied it off with a bow, clapping his hands together to signal the end of his work. Jay reached back, her fingers running along her hair as she pulled it in front of herself to examine what Chip had done.
“Thank you,” Jay said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.
“Of course,” Chip found himself smiling back, a hint of a blush creeping across his face.
Jay flopped down against the pillows of the bed, grabbing Chip by the arm until he was lying next to her, practically on top of her. He tucked his head in the crook of her neck and draped one arm around her torso as Jay encircled him in an embrace. He grinned and let out a huff against her neck. She shivered.
Gillion exited the bathroom a few moments after they had gotten settled. His hair was fluffed up and curly and he was wearing his pajamas. He rubbed at his face, exhaustion evident in the way he moved. He crept over to the bed where Jay and Chip were laying hesitantly, an air of caution to him.
His footsteps were loud and lacked any stealth. Jay peeked one eye open at him and smiled, forcing Chip to scoot over some to make room for him. This had been a common occurrence on the ship. Something that Gillion didn’t fully grasp, but he understood the ritual.
They moved aside to give him room to join, not to push him away. He still wasn’t sure about everything that was going on, and his mind could never make up his mind if it was a positive or negative feeling that bloomed in his chest whenever one of them hugged him.
Little was said as Gillion timidly climbed into bed next to Jay. She wedged an arm underneath him, pulling him closer. Gillion’s tail draped across the bed, the weight on her legs unfamiliar but not unwelcome.
Gillion’s chest rattled with each breath, the usual melody accompanying him whenever he slept out of water. His arm crossed over where Chip had his arm on Jay and Chip grabbed Gillion’s hand, squeezing it gently. Gillion laid his head on the pillow, entangling his and Jay’s legs and pressing himself against her side.
Jay hummed softly, her hand finding a way to Chip’s hair and scratching lightly against his scalp, making sure her sharp nails didn’t accidentally cut him. Chip, who was already halfway to falling asleep, managed to relax further against her.
It took Gillion a bit longer to relax, but soon enough, the exhaustion took hold of him too until he was unable to keep his eyes open. Jay smiled softly, pressing her lips to the top of his head, her exhale ruffling his hair.
Knowing that the two of them were finally asleep was enough for Jay to let herself relax. The only thing keeping her insomnia at bay was to know that they were safe first before she could ever let herself sleep. But now that happened, exhaustion was hitting her like a train as her eyelids were heavy. The swimming and sailing all day had taken a lot of energy, causing her to fall asleep almost as soon as she knew it was okay.