Skinny Dipping

Sunlight filtered between the high stone formations in the Kijara Seafalls. Milla took point, which ended up with her being several feet ahead of Alvin and Jude, thoroughly interested in a type of turtle she swore Undine favored for pets. Jude considered warning her that it was a snapping turtle, but the ill-tempered animal was keeping enough distance from her that he could avoid disappointing her. Nevertheless, he kept a worried eye on her; it would be terribly easy for the turtle to snap ahold of her long hair.

Now that they were beyond the mountainous forest, a sea breeze made their trip more comfortable. The wind carried the scent of a salt, a sign that the ocean was beyond the unusual rock formations. Jude found his gaze returning to odd sight as they progressed farther along the sandy beach, fascinating by the aberrant environment created by clashing spirit climes.

"This connects to the ocean, right?" Jude questioned.

"Sure does," he said with a nod. "They call it the seafalls to sound special, but it's actually a bay connecting to the ocean."

"Alvin, have you been here before?" he asked curiously.

"I've been all over and back again," he replied, slinging an arm around his customer's shoulders. "Wanna come for the next go around?"

Jude continued walking, despite the awkward weight on his shoulders. "That sounds like it'd be expensive, given your rates."

"Maybe I could instate a friends and family discount," he offered jokingly.

"That 'maybe' wasn't very reassuring," Jude remarked with an uncomfortable smile.

Jude glanced over as Milla stepped away from the edge of the bay, disappointed that the turtle disappeared beneath the water's surface. The small creature left ripples in its wake, but she was thankfully practical enough not to follow.

"Well, you can always enjoy the present. This is a great place for skinny dipping," Alvin said brightly. "Though it might get sticky."

Jude frowned. "Well, it is saltwater…"

"What kind of dipping? I've never heard that term before," Milla said, sounding a bit surprised.

"It's…something people do," Jude said lamely, for once, unable to explain.

"What does that entail?" Milla asked, suddenly curious.

"Can we pretend I didn't just say that?" Alvin asked, strolling ahead of the group. "I don't think preppy can get in teacher mode to explain this one."

Milla placed her hand on her hips, disappointed by the lack of an explanation. Jude hurried after Alvin and reached for one of the gels in his pocket, suddenly feeling slightly under the weather. Despite his general willingness to be helpful and explain, there were some topics that he didn't want to touch.

"Well, then can the two of you demonstrate?" Milla questioned expectantly.

"No!" Jude squeaked, choking on the gel. "People get arrested for it in Il Fan!"

Jude managed to splutter out a response, though he continued to cough. Alvin casually whacked his back, though it was of little help. Milla looked ready to try as well, though Jude quickly held his hand up to signal that he was fine. As good as her intentions were, she didn't always know her own strength; it was a lesson he learned when she woke him up from being stunned once in battle.

"This isn't Il Fan," Alvin chimed in, thoroughly unhelpfully. "Don't tell me an honors student would forget where we are."

"Indeed, we're in a completely different country now," Milla said with a matter of fact nod.

"Absolutely not!"

Jude whirled around, away from both of them before his face became any redder. He marched on ahead of the group, determined to regain his composure as quickly as possible. Behind him, he could hear Milla sigh while Alvin chuckled quietly. The waters of the seafalls suddenly didn't seem as innocently inviting.

Author's Note:

This was for a request meme over on Tumblr! This meme was quote based and my friend asked for Alvin and Jude with the quote "Can we pretend I didn't just say that?"

Of course, I instantly heard that in Alvin's voice. The rest just developed around that.

I'm taking a couple more if anyone wants to mosey on over to Tumblr, pick a quote, and request!