Syrune needed to get closer. The camera was water proof, after all. She started to sit criss-cross on the dock, and tried putting the camera down in the water, facing the coral. She quickly pulled it back up and groaned. "Why can't I just get a good picture?" Syrune rubbed her temple and continued having the conversation with herself, "Oh yeah, because people are destroying the reefs!"
Adrianna’s eyes widened as she ducked underneath a wider fan coral for cover. She pondered the consequences of getting caught in a picture. Humans would know about her. But she had been told how paranoid the humans were. Would the rest even believe this one? She peeked her eyes around the edge of the coral. Maybe she could get closer when the human wasn’t no looking?
Once the camera was out of the water, she swam as fast as she could to the other side of the dock, behind the other creature. Adrianna surfaced for a moment to get a closer look at the human, curiosity getting the best of her.
Syrune tried to get another picture up from where she was sitting. "Stupid people…" she grumbled. Syrune sighed. "Maybe I should leave. It's not like people are gonna listen anyway…" She trailed off, starting to get discouraged.
She shook her head, snapping herself out of it and put the camera in the water again.
Adrianna frowned at the human’s pessimistic nature. It seemed so down. She found herself growing closer to them, eager to see the other up close. Legs intrigued her, always had. The mermaid rested a hand on the dock, barely raising her eyes above the top.
"Maybe if I got in the water?" She mumbled. "I didn't see any signs that said I couldn't swim…" She started to take off her converse, one of her legs hanging off the side of the dock.
Adrianna’s ears pricked up at her words. She’d really be able to see her up close in the water. Just make sure you don’t end up in front of that device, whatever it was. She moved herself under the dock, waiting for the other to come in.
Syrune took off her shoes and sweatshirt and hopped into the water. She shivered, since it was a bit cold for her, but tried to keep her hands steady. She went underwater, and tried to take a better photo of the coral reef.
Adrianna swan behind Syrune with some caution. But not too much. That wouldn’t be too fun, would it? She kept her eyes on the human, though. She kept Adrianna’s full attention. So much so, in fact, that she forgot she was holding a breath. A stream of bubbles drifted towards the surface.
Syrune took the picture and seemed to be satisfied with it. She heard the bubbles, however, and turned around. Her eyes widened and she dropped her camera, but she didn't move. She was frozen in place.
Adrianna couldn’t help as a small smile formed on her face when the human turned around. She looked so… scared. They stayed there, neither moving, before Adrianna moved to retrieve the device the human had dropped. As she swam back up, she asked, “What does this do? I’ve seen a bunch of you guys use things like these, but I never figured out what it was…”
Syrune went back up to the surface when the mermaid swam to get the camera. When the mermaid surface and asked her about the camera, her jaw dropped. "Er, that's a camera… It takes a picture of whatever you point it at." She said, slightly freaking out.
Adrianna nodded, invested in the explanation. “Pictures…” She’d heard that word before, from young people on the dock. “You were making… pictures of the reef? Why?” She saw the confusion in the other’s expression, but chose to ignore it.
"I want to help save the coral reef. I figured if I took pictures and showed people how horrible it was, they would try and help…" Syrune's gaze wandered down at Adrianna's tail. "Are you a real mermaid or am I hallucinating?" She asked, her voice slightly shaking.
Adrianna’s heart bloomed with warmth. A girl after her own heart. “Aw, sweet!” she cooed, switching the camera between her hands. It was oddly heavy. She had seen others take pictures with small rectangles before.
“Oh, this?” Adrianna spared a glance down at her tail, which was keeping her afloat at the moment, before looking back up and cocking an eyebrow. “No, you’re not hallucinating.”
Syrune bit her lip. "I've never met a mermaid before." She grabbed the dock for support and pulled herself up. She sat on it, letting her legs hang over the side. "What's your name?"
"That's probably on purpose. Most of us are pretty elusive, if we want to be." Adrianna let out a giggle as she watched the human pull themselves onto the platform. "I'm Adrianna, and you?" She didn't offer her hand out as she had seen other humans do. In all honesty, she didn't understand the custom.
"My name's Syrune," she grinned at Adrianna. "It's nice to meet you properly."
"Ah, pretty name! Same to you!" Adrianna replied, grinning in turn. 'The smile suits her much more than the frown,' she thought. She almost said it aloud, but figured it may be too inappropriate. "I haven't seen you around here often." A mindless comment.
"Ah, yeah. Well, I usually go to the other park when I want to be around water. It has a really nice beach…" She trailed off. I didn't know mermaids could even speak English! "Do you… live around in this area?" She asked hesitantly. Does she even sleep? She has to sleep, right?
"Yeah! I do. I stay around the reef most of the time, helping out the fish and whatnot. Kinda boring sometimes, but what can ya do?" she rambled, gesturing with her hands a bit. "You alright? Need anything?" Adrianna sort of knew that this was a little bit of a shock for Syrune. But she didn't want to scare her more. Instead, she opted to be more amiable than anything. First impressions last the longest.
"Um, can I have my camera back?" She let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of her head. "And erm. Could I maybe… touch your tail?" She asked carefully. Maybe it's weird to just ask that.
“Oh, yeah! Sorry,” she apologized, handing the thing over to Syrune. She rested her elbows on the platform, her chin in her hands. “Hm? Oh, uh, sure,” Adrianna said before bringing herself into the platform. Her fins were still submerged, but the rest shimmered a blush pink in the sunlight.
Syrune took the camera and set it on the dock, before gently stroking her hand against Adrianna's tail. "Well, I'll be damned." She whispered to herself. Whipping her head up, she said, "Sorry, I just… I can't believe you exist!" A small smile crept on her face. "I mean, I always daydreamed about being a mermaid when I was a kid, but I never thought that your kind actually existed!" She started to get a bit excited, her smile growing bigger and bigger. "This is so cool!"
“Ask any questions you want, I suppose.” Adrianna grinned at her enthusiasm, setting herself back into the water. She didn’t want any passing person to see her. That might mean trouble. After positioning herself so that her arms crossed on the dock and her cheek rested on those, she asked, “Your kind knows about us? I… I thought we were still a secret?”
"Well, you're more of a myth. Usually only little kids believe in mermaids." She shrugged. "Can you turn into a human? Or is that only in the stories?"