433/Pool meetings of the supernatural

Pool meetings of the supernatural
Date of Scene:	16 September 2023
Location:	Plot Room 1
Synopsis:	The staff of the local swimming pool venue does a bad job with Coco's reservation and Kaori stumbles on the swimming mermaid. However, the kaiju and the mermaid hit it off and have a nice chat.
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Kaori Jira

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Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco had spent the previous day looking up for swimming venues around the city. She is rather curious about how it would feel to swim in a controlled environment versus the variance of the sea, so she has opted to reserve a swimming pool to herself. The mermaid princess isn't certainly missing the money to spend on such a thing.

Asking to book a whole swimming pool to herself has gotten her rather odd looks, but they didn't question the situation too much, and so here she is, standing in front of the calm water of the pool.

'Well, time to get in', she thinks, catiously approaching the water to avoid slipping as soon she is in her mermaid form. She starts doing swimming around, admittedly finding the pool has its own charm, with how she doesn't have to pay attention to animals, even if she misses the sound of the water currents around her.

Kaori Jira has posed:
She used to love it, on her world. The water, the warmth, the sun, the comfort...and now, she was trying to reclaim that. But it was different, different world, different her.

She was small, she lacked armor, teeth and claws, a tail... she needed a swimsuit now.

There was adjustments that needed to be made and she was trying to make them.

Beneath the surface, she had her eyes closed as she struggled to get used to how she was supposed to move without a tail now. Legs were just...inefficient, but the new splash if movement had her blink a little as she began to emerge.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco gets startled by the sound of someone else entering the water. "Who is there?" she instictively speaks, the water carrying the distorted sound towards Kaori. She looks in the direction of the splash, nervous on how to proceed with the other girl there.

She just sticks there, unsure on how to proceed. Whatever she did, Kaori would probably spot her, and then she would surely have questions, and it would be unlikely for Coco to be able to make a getaway with someone trying to get an explanation, she thinks.

Kaori Jira has posed:
It wasn't an entrance, it was an exit, black lockd emerging from the surface as her scales once might have and her gaze taking in the sight entirely.

Kaori had met Coco, she'd met her pets, now it made a little more sense, if she could actually see past the same magics that shrouded so many others. Slow steps, slow surfacing...she doesn't seem to be freaking out in the slightest.

"You are not a human," she speaks calmly, curiously even, "what are you?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco looks at Kaori, surprised at the girl's calm. You would have thought she would have either been overtaken by curious excitement or nervousness over the matter. She tentatively swims a bit closer, slowly as if she expected the girl to react negatively.

"You are quite calm", she decides to point out, wondering what could have caused such a behaviour for her. Her question only serves to perplexe her even more. don't know about what I am? You... are the first human I meet that doesn't", she talks to explain the perplexed look on her own face.

"I am a mermaid." She gestures at her yellow tail. "As you can see, I have a tail for moving underwater instead of using legs." She pauses for a second, wondering what it would have actually been like to swim with legs, not having really thought hard about the matter before.

Kaori Jira has posed:
A little blink, confusion, but not the kind one might expect...

"A mermaid?" she repeats, clearly not familier with the term, strange enough as it was. "I have not seen such a creature before. Are they keeping you in captivity?"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco grimaces at that question. The last thing she wanted is to be reminded of her time imprisoned in Gaito's palace. "No, I am not being captive. I had booked the placed to myself, so I could relax in here. I assume the staff did nothing to stop you."

She taps the wall of the pool in nervousness. "I will have to have a word with them about that later." She sighs before staring at Kaori. "Would you be able to keep this a secret?"

Kaori Jira has posed:
"None attempted," Kaori muses softly before folding her arms under her bust, the human-shaped Kaiju giving a little sniff. "And none could manage."

"Perhaps they did not see me?" she muses before stepping forwards again, a little chuckle given. "It is almost...reassuring. To see there are others who are not human."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco nods at Kaori as she assumes a bold pose. She is clearly confident in her own talent to slip by. "You must be good at moving about furtively then." Coco has started relaxing by now, so she start swaying her tail, making small waves in the pool around her and Kaori.

The mermaid does a double take as Kaori talks about not being human, raising an eyebrow. "You are not human?" It doesn't look like she is pulling her leg, but Coco didn't expect of meeting someone in a similar situation. "What are you then?" she asks, perhaps a bit more brashly than would be polite, but meaning no ill will.

Kaori Jira has posed:
"Not human," Kaori muses where she rests, "more." A little quirk of her lip, she unfolds her arms and trails her fingertips over the surface.

"But there is no proper word for it here."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
What rigidity is left in Coco's posture is gone by now. "Oh, that's a good thing then. Getting out of the pool would have been troublesome otherwise." The mermaid emits a sigh of relief before explaining. "I can't reveal my human guise while I am a mermaid and viceversa if the other person is human. They would be allowed to discover it on their own, but if I am the one to explain the matter, I would dissolve into seafoam." She smiles fully at Kaori, her fin quivering in joy at this development. "I am Coco, you visited my dorm room at Radiant Heart, remember?"

Kaori Jira has posed:
"You are cursed?" A suggestion, Kaori seemed to leap to it readily, but she had a little experience with such things. "How curious..."

And when that reveal is made, the veil shattered and a soft note of suprise. "Ahh...then it's a secret shared..."

A soft exhaled breath, her eyes change, a shift to amber as soft tracing shapes of black scales grow across her skin where it revealed from her one-piece swimsuit.

"I am Kaori Jira..." she announces, an introduction repeated, but one devoid of secrets for once.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco nods uncertainly at Kaori in reply. "It sure looks and feels like a curse. It's not an actual curse, though, so it's worse, since you can't break it. It's more like something part of our nature as merfolk, that's how it is for everyone in my and the others' kingdoms. I hope you don't have something similar yourself."

Coco stares intently when the girl's eyes turn to amber and black scales appear on her skin. "That's quite impressive, and you have some beautiful eyes. So I am guessing you are part reptile, right?"

"Nice to meet you for real, Kaori", Coco says with a smile, lowering her head slightly for a second or two towards her.

Kaori Jira has posed:
The scales melt away, disappearing in soft whafts of steam, smoke or something else to leave her looking completely human once more. "Reptile is the word humans use, perhaps close enough," she murmers before stretching her arms over her head. "Titan, monster, they might be better. Now I'm less. I don't even have my tail anymore...most of the time."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"A titan..." Coco repeats, her brow furrowed. "Wouldn't that mean you are sort of extremely tall in your true form? That must be lonely. You can spend time with other people like this at least." She surely wouldn't want to be stuck in a form unable to relate to others, even if Kaori thinks she is less now.

Kaori Jira has posed:
"Or everyone and everything here is small, compared to those in my home," Kaori points out, folding her arms once more. "But...the food is better, that much I confess."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
'I suppose things like that are relative', Coco thinks. She doesn't really contest Kaori's point, but instead drags herself onto the border of the swimming pool, her tail lifting itself out of the water, and soon enough she is back to her human form, her yellow sleeveless dress and yellow boots having returned to her. "Thanks a lot for the talk, Kaori, I really appreciated it, despite it being unexpected." Coco waves at her with a smile.

"The food is really nice, true. Speaking of which, do you want to come with me to eat some? I know a nice Tako Cafè not too far from here." After receiving Kaori's reply, Coco makes a quick stop to point out what happened to her reservation, not pushing things to the point of getting a compensation since it ended up going well, just making it present to them, then she heads there with her if she accepted.

Kaori Jira has posed:
"Tako?" Kaori repeats, her form once more perfectly human as she moves to the side of the pool and climbing herself out. "I do not know this food, you will show it to me..."

That was probably her best attempt at saying yes. Manners were...a work in progress.