A new day, a new gate to pass through, with the one they’d chosen feeling a little more special compared to a few of the other options available to them. It was one Ben had enchanted himself, picked for the dual reasons that it was a city they hadn’t been to before, as well as one on a coast to let them enjoy all the ocean had to offer.
After a night of socializing with Greed and his partner, followed by practicing his actualization in Myriad’s realm, by the time they’d woken up, neither had anything specifically in mind that could be done that day, leaving it to Ben to think of something fun.
The city was close enough to the world’s equator to make it warm, though not as warm as Nare’s city had been with its uncomfortably active volcano so close beside it, and they both wandered the streets and enjoyed it, stopping only long enough to find a hotel to stay in for the night since Anailia lacked an embassy for them to take advantage of there before trying out the local foods, with fish making up most of the menus.
And while tasting food and wandering around was fun, it wasn’t what either of them had in mind for their stay.
“We passed an art gallery earlier,” Thera offered, fully aware of Ben’s interest in such things and enjoying them plenty herself. “Why don’t we give it a look?”
“How about tomorrow? There’s actually something else I was thinking for today if you don’t mind.”
“Alright, then lead the way.”
They started going down to the coast from there, finding exactly what Ben had been hoping to see. A beach in all its glory, with sand and waves and a cool breeze to cut the bite of the sun, along with plenty of folks around enjoying as people lounged or swam.
It really only lacked a single thing, but one that was pretty necessary for what he’d been hoping to spend the day on. In all of their walking since they’d arrived, he couldn’t find a place to buy any swimwear.
He knew there had to be one somewhere, he could tell as much from the people enjoying their time there. Both different species and different people within a species all had their own standards for what would be considered appropriate to wear, but he was seeing a range from folks completely in the nude to full-body suits. All he’d been hoping to find was a place with some comfortable option that wouldn’t land in either extreme for them.
Oh well, if you want something done right then you’ve gotta do it yourself.
With no other choice, Ben materialized something for himself, looking like the sort of swim trunks he would have used back on Earth as he used his magic to construct a material that would be both light and flexible enough to act as fabric without absorbing water, all while Thera watched, shaking her head as she did.
“I’m beginning to think I’m never going to get used to seeing everything you can just make,” She sighed before directing her focus to the thing he’d chosen to create. “So what’s with the shorts?”
“Swim shorts specifically. You’ve said before that you can’t swim and here we are at a beach on vacation, it’s the perfect time.”
He saw her make a face, clearly not hiding that she wasn’t as sure about the idea as he seemed to be, but he decided to push just a little.
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“It’s fun, relaxing, and more than anything else, just a handy skill to have,” He told her. “Being able to swim has literally saved my life. I know it’s not likely, but if you ever end up in the middle of the ocean without any stone around to use then you’d regret not knowing.”
“Ben, I do have other options now beyond my earth magic,” She told him, using her non-affinitied power to raise herself a foot about the ground to add to the point. Even if she was thrown a hundred miles from the nearest bit of land, she would be fine thanks to the level of her skills and the power of her mana. Still though, she could see it was something he wanted to do so she gave in at the end. “But fine, in that case, make me something to wear too.”
“Awesome, any preferences?”
“Whatever you think would look good on me.”
“That doesn’t even slightly narrow it down.”
“Something human girls wear then.”
“Hmm, well human girls don’t have tails, but I can think of a couple standard designs that would fit.”
He spent his mana, envisioning what he wanted to make and brought it into being, getting a cold look as a reward for his trouble.
“That’s underwear.”
“It’s a bikini actually. They’re popular on Earth and I’m sure it will be comfortable.”
“Something else, Ben.”
“Alright, if you’re sure.”
He tossed it in his bag since it didn’t look like it would be seeing any use, instead making a one-piece that received a more positive review, leaving them both to change before walking through the warm sand to the water’s edge, Ben stepping within to feel it’s cold touch while Thera looked at it hesitantly, dipping in a toe with caution.
A small laugh escaped him as he watched. He wasn’t used to seeing Thera look so hesitant, especially for something like stepping into the shallow ends of some water. For a girl who had so much fun throwing herself through the sky on a metal cart, seeing that side of her was a treat and he held out his hand to give her some comfort, encouraging her as they moved in deeper.
It was when they got out far enough that the water was waist-deep that Ben scooped her up in his arms, giving her a winning smile that was returned with a deep look of distrust.
“If you’re about to drop me then I will kill you.”
“Ha, I’m not doing that so trust me a little. Take a deep breath and bring your chest up, we’re teaching you to float first.”
When she did as he’d told her, Ben slowly began lowering her to the water, keeping his arms beneath her to catch her if she started to sink but not having to worry as she gently floated atop its surface.
“See, you’ve already got it,” he told her encouragingly. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“I feel like I’ll sink if I breathe.”
“Good thing there’s still ground below to stand on then.”
“I’m half earth spirit Ben, being out in water like this is basically abandoning my natural habitat.”
“I know spirits of all types come to our very landlocked Stonewall,” He laughed. “You aren’t going to convince me that earth spirits can’t be around the water at all.”
Still, he gently took her in his arms to help stand her back up before switching to trying to get her comfortable with kicking, and then learning basic forms after as ever so slowly, Thera let herself become comfortable, eventually even having fun as she enjoyed the feel of the water around her with Ben nearby.
Despite learning to enjoy it through, she never got the skill as the hours wore on, only growing tired by the end. No matter how much strength and stamina one held, doing something unfamiliar was always going to take its toll and as the time went on the two eventually left the water to sit on the beach and watch the waves.
“So what now?” Thera asked him as she leaned her head against his arm. “You seem a lot less tired than me.”
“Ha, I have boundless energy, but for now…” He trailed off, thinking of what to do. It felt too early to get dinner and he didn’t really want to leave the beach yet given how long it had been since his last time on one, but that just left the question of what to do to enjoy a bit more time until he felt his eyes light up. Exerting just a bit of his mana, he created what he viewed as a mainstay of beaches everywhere, a tiny shovel and bucket. “Well miss earth spirit, if water isn’t your thing, why don’t I teach you the joy of sandcastles?”