42nd of Summer, 508 AV.
He had been practicing awkward little flips into the ocean when he had remembered that he had told Kavala he would take her to see the seahorses.
Performing a sharp front slip was harder than it appeared and he had been stuck on practicing it for awhile now. He always came to this particular spot out on the coast of the Isle, not too far away from Mura. Every so often a Konti would walk by, probably enjoying their own personal time, and would greet him with a soft smile or a little wave and a nod of the head. Most of the time he was alone though, which was really the way he liked it most. He had managed to get the stretching part down, that was easy enough. He had a solid routine down, one where he stretched wrists and ankles, then hamstrings, then neck and shoulders. It was the rest of it that gave him trouble.
He wasn't really able to get a running start, as he had opted to practice out in the ocean. That way no matter how he landed he wouldn't end up hurting himself. His spot was a shady area that was overlooked by a small cluster of trees, so he could strip down to just a pair of simple shorts, wade out into the shallow depths, and then front flip as long as he could muster without fear of injury. If he tried to get a running start then the water would just end up bogging him down. Perhaps that was why he was having trouble getting height on the jump that he was supposed to do before he attempted to flip forward. He tested the theory, jumping up and down a few times in the ocean. He bent at the knees and then thrusted himself upwards, trying to direct all of his force up into the sky. The water splashed around him as his hands flew in the air, elbows by his ears. He landed with another splash, bending a bit at the knee to absorb the impact of the blow. Yes, he was definitely losing quite a bit of height because he insisted doing it in the water. Would it be impossible to overcome the handicap he was placing on himself? It certainly helped with his bodybuilding training, adding weight and additional stress to his leg muscles. Which did he want to focus on?
Matthew crouched and then flung himself upwards again, but this time tucked at the knees and pushed himself into a forward rotation. He executed a tight little spin in the air but landed on the small of his back, once again missing the landing. He let his slim body sink into the salty water, eventually coming to float onto his back, staring up at the sky as he pondered his options. Flipping himself over, he aimlessly began to doggy-paddle. He was normally a bit afraid of swimming and all the things that could possibly lurk in the depths, but the clear waters of the Isle seemed to dissolve his fears. Even though he was a sight that would make most Konti laugh, Matthew didn't care. He needed the practice anyways. He swam and he swam, legs and hands churning until he had worn himself out and was forced to let the waves take control and wash him ashore. At one point a wave had crashed over him, and that was when he had saw a hurried little creature cutting through the water to head back to where it had been carried from deeper in the ocean. A seahorse. He was supposed to show someone a seahorse, wasn't he? The konti. Kavala, someone who he assumed was pretty close to the definition of friend. He had almost forgotten. How rude.
It was only a few chimes later that he began the hunt to find where best to introduce the konti woman to seahorses. The most obvious was the Silver Lake, something that he had often heard about in stories back home and something that was often discussed here. It was too sacred he assumed, so the young student moved on. Next was the Crystal Cavern, but he soon found that it was almost even more sacred. He eventually had to resort to questioning some of the few Konti he knew, mostly from classes or from what side jobs he had taken over the summer. Eventually he was led to the Deepwater Hole. one particular helpful Konti even gave him the perfect time to have his little adventure.
So he had left Kavala a note, thinking that it would be the best way to have her meet him at the Hole. He had left instructions on how to get there as well as a time at which to arrive, which would be soon after Syna had completely vanished from the sky.
If she did come, she would find him waiting, back facing the path that would have her approach the rather wide and deep hole. It was uniquely lit by the bright green glowing algae that lined both the walls and the bottom, casting a rather magical glow through what had been light blue waters only a dozen chimes ago. He briefly called upon his djed, summoning it from his stomach and swirling it through his veins, burning it to bring the auras of the scene shimmering into view. The aura of the glowing algae didn't look any different. They tasted slightly of salt, too. He blinked, not incredibly fond of the taste, reaching up and stripping his shirt from his flesh as he let the djed simmer back to a dormant state. If he had timed it correctly, the tip he had received from the konti would prove to be a useful one, the special event taking place right as Kavala hopefully made her entrance. The young man in just a pair of shorts was a beautiful sight, but the dozens of little pink and yellow seahorses that timidly made their way out of various little underwater caves were a different kind of beautiful. They were in a league of their own.
Matthew would turn to her as she approached, the green glow reflecting off both the seahorses and his eyes, a slender finger extending to point at the spectacle before them. His voice was soft and passive, not at all different from any other time that she had heard him speak. "These are seahorses."
