Shell Hunt

Having started the day out with the plans to take a simple swim, things had turned out quite differently for Chirro. She had packed a lunch for herself and it had probably gotten squished in her pack when she stumbled down one of the hills on her way to the beach.

Leaving that on the beach, the wanderer had almost stripped to take her dip. People had been whispering about her body odor recently and this swim would be perfect to get her body clean. Allowing the current to take her further out than she had expected, she now was swimming with the tide. Luckily it had shifted and was slowly bringing her back to shore.

Then she felt it. A nip on one of her feet. Sticking her head underwater to see what had just bit her, she accidentally tried to draw in a breath. Sputtering and coughing, she flailed a little on the surface before she got the water out of her air pipe. By now, she had drawn the attention of even more of the critters.

Kicking frantically, all of her martial training was pretty much useless while she was in the water. Now there were several of these eels nipping at her body and she tried harder to reach the shore in front of her.

On one of her many glances in that direction, she spied a blond walking along the beach.

"Help!"

And she went under again. Up and down they went. Each time, she would sputter out another plea for help before going back under. Each little nibble was starting to irritate her and she kept trying to kick the creatures away.

Josh Dragelion

It seemed like one moment Chirro saw somebody on the beach and the next few times he was still there, then he was suddenly gone. Cursing to herself, she was going to drown and eaten by these eels. Just her luck!

She wasn't going to give up so easily though and kept fighting. Each motion brought her just a little closer to shore but each nibble dragged her back. In just a few more tries, she felt more than anything her savior. Once he got the attention of a few of the creatures by cutting the head off of one, she was able to move faster in the direction of the shore.

Feeling they should work together, she reached out to grab one of them with her hand as he had and hold it out for him to chop its head off too. Eel by eel, at last the school was either dead or feeding on thier brothers and sisters.

Taking a second to catch her breath, they finished the swim to the beach where once she felt the sand under her feet, she fell down. Laying there breathing, she rolled onto her back and then sat up. Looking at Josh, she finally found her ability to speak.

"Thank you very much! I swear I started seeing my life flash before my eyes."

Checking on her hair, she found the brains still in place and let out a sigh. One less thing for her to worry about. Her necklace and the rest of her clothes were with her bag. Along with her lunch...her stomach let out a growl and she covered it quickly with her fingers.

Josh Dragelion

After they both had enough time to catch their breaths, the stranger commented it was unusual to fine these eels so close to the shore. Coughing only a little still, Chirro had enough energy to just nod. Sitting with her knees pulled up and her arms wrapped around them, she brushed at some of the sand that had started clinging to her flesh.

When he asked if she was hurt, she shook her head.

"I am physically unharmed but I don't think I'll go swimming in the ocean anytime soon."

Saying this with a touch of humor, she smiled slightly and stood up.

"Indeed, if I saw something like this, I would attempt to help. Though my martial arts really aren't made for combat in water. My name is Chirro Corro. You?"

Normally she didn't care about her physical appearance but for some reason, she did right now. What a mess she was...needing to get rescued from drowning and being eaten by eels. Letting out a sigh that he might even be able to hear, the young woman stood up and held her hand out to him to shake...if he even wanted to.

Josh Dragelion

Chuckling just a little when he mentioned starting out again in kiddie pools, Chirro shook her head.

"I'm a better swimmer than that!"

Ending her shake with a tip in the direction of the sea, she crossed her arms across her body and realized she was pretty much still in just her skivvies. Her face started turning almost as red as her eyes, she attempted to cover herself a bit.

"I will be avoiding the ocean for a while is all."

Clearing her throat, she looked around the beach for her bag. Of course, it was where she had left it but it seemed so far away. Keeping her arms wrapped around her torso, she nodded slightly when he introduced himself. Giving him a smile at his question, she was still quite red in the face.

"I needed to bathe..."

This had seemed the best place to accomplish getting clean and she had not expected to need a rescue. Letting out a sigh, the woman stood up and pointed at her bag.

"It is nice to meet you as well. Thank you and excuse me just a moment!"

Dashing off, she was still within sight as she grabbed a towel and placed it around her body.

"What brought you here, Josh Dragelion?"

Walking back to him, she was also carrying a very smooshed lunch.

Josh Dragelion

"I am entirely aware of those houses there. My family owns one and I have no desire to return to it."

Sticking her chin out a little bit in a touch of stubbornness, Chirro couldn't meet the gaze of her rescuer. Thankfully he dropped the subject and answered her question. It was a nice prospect and thought to have a friend. Sadly she had never really been one to reach out to people and did not have anybody she could call one. He didn't need to know that though and she kept this thought to herself.

"You picked a perfect location for that! I'm sorry to have interfered in your quest. Is there anything I can do to repay you? Maybe help you search?"

Perhaps IF they did return to town together, perhaps she could arrange for him to stay at her family's inn and he would be in for a treat. Especially if they learned he had saved her life.

"What size of shells do you have in mind? Smaller ones are easy. The larger ones will probably be more difficult but not impossible to find."

Opening up the bag that contained her squished sandwich, she held out half of it for Josh to take if he wanted.

"This might not be much but it is good and at least slightly filling."

Hopefully, he wasn't some sort of vegetarian or something like that.

Josh Dragelion

His observation of the owners of a different hot spring location did surprise Chirro and she nodded silently in thanks. She usually did not notice her own offending aroma but she knew how often one should normally bathe. One reason why she didn't was she was not often close enough to a town to make use of their springs. That would probably change soon and Chirro had the feeling something was going to happen and she would stay in town.

Laughing at his comment, she shook her head.

"They are not. Thank you for the suggestion. I will be sure to investigate the establishment when I reach the town."

Handing him half of her sandwich when he agreed to accept it. Her eyes started scanning the area nearby for shells small enough to fit on a necklace. Munching on half of the food, she did not wander too close to the water but still walked the beach. For now, she would avoid even allowing the tide to touch her.

After a few minutes of silence while, at least she searched, she looked around for Josh to show him what she had found so far.

Holding out a handful of shells of several different sizes, she handed them to him.

"I'll keep looking."

With that, the young woman wandered off again to look at another small area of the beach.

Josh Dragelion

She was a wanderer that was usually unaware of where she was unless it was close to her own home. That wasn't the case this time and she would certainly go make sure to visit. At least, she would be able to get her drenched clothes washed.

When he mentioned he wouldn't judge her even if her parents were Gorons, she chuckled a little. Shaking her head as she walked away to search for shells, she kept that smile on her face.

Offering what she had found, he asked what she typically did. Shrugging her shoulders slightly, Chirro was silent for the moments it took for him to look over the shells she had brought to him.

"I wander around mostly. Hunting for treasure and seeking knowledge of various things. Somehow, I end up in sticky situations...such as getting attacked by fish. What about you? You look like royalty. I can't imagine what life is like for you."

The silence was again between them and she looked at the ground while waiting to see if the number of shells was enough for Josh.

Josh Dragelion