Deep Blue Ballad

Slow but steady footsteps creeped out into ocean's murky waters, the gentle splashes of breaking waves against bear ankles breaking through an otherwise silent night. A lone starfish was out on the beaches of Lilypad tonight, a rather rare occurrence nowadays with how many people had taken to moving to town as of late. But Amaya wouldn't have it any other way, truth be told.The times she could wander about on her own, just free to exist without worrying about anyone else? Those were her favorite.

As for tonight, the sea star was taking advantage of the turning temperatures of the summer months to wander out to the ocean. Obviously, as an aquatic creature, being in the water was second nature, and something she had grown to dearly miss as she avoided the open waters more while the weather had stayed cold. Now; however, nothing was holding her back.

A few more steps. The water lapped at her waist. A few more, now it splashed against her chest. This always felt like when the water was at it's most chilling for some reason. She held her breath- not that she really needed to- before take the final few steps and plunging her head down below the waves.

What felt like a rush of fresh breaths washed over her body, every pore opening to embrace being underwater. Amaya popped her eyes open, the farsighted star's vision slowly adjusting to their new environment. Ugh... She had forgotten glasses weren't exactly that helpful when she was trying to see through water first. She had prescription glasses when she lived back in her hometown, but... those hadn't been on her mind when she left. She would have to probably get some new ones in town soon if she wanted to do this again...

Still, she was already out here and dedicated to swimming, so she would just have to live with it for now. The girl paddled further out, the water only getting dimmer and murkier as she kept going. Most animals would probably have struggled to see as they dove even further (and admittedly, with her... not so perfect eyes, she wasn't doing much better at close range), but thankfully her kind had pretty decent evolutions in place to let her still watch as things swam past. There were many pretty fish swimming around tonight. Most of them she couldn't really identify properly; at least not without being able to see them at a better distance (and less foggy glasses), but it didn't stop her from just enjoying the various colors from slipping by, and getting excited when she recognized an eel or seahorse slithering past, cataloging it in her mind.

Suddenly, Amaya realized all the fish had seemingly... disappeared? All of them just seemed to have scattered. Had she scared them off? She soon had her answer, as a massive black form lumbered into sight; larger than any regular fish, and indeed, even dwarfing her own size by a magnitude of several times.It was a form she was all too familiar with; one she saw on a daily basis.

She watched in silent awe as the colossal form of the whale shark swam underneath her, so close she could have probably touched it if she had tried. But she kept a safe and respectable distance from the gentle giant as it proceeded. It wasn't every day you saw a creature of such raw magnificence. ...Well ok, maybe it was for her, she did get to see her own pet Bubby everyday. But there was just something that much more magical getting to watch one roam in the free abyss of the ocean. Perhaps she should try and catch another whale shark? She hadn't considered that maybe Bubby had started to grow lonely in her tank... But that would mean she would have to get that lucky again, of course. Plus, she had heard whispered rumors of someone in town gathering up all the whale sharks they could just to toss them into the well. It might honestly be safer to just leave any she caught in the ocean...

Well, that would have to be a worry she thought about should the day actually arrive.