xp_logs | Malibu: Snorkeling Adventure (Reply)

Catseye, Victor & Meggan go on a snorkeling adventure.

"This mask is hurty," Catseye complained, tugging at the rubber strap holding her mask and snorkel to her face. She surveyed the others of the tour, spread out along the beach on the first 'leg' of their tour of Malibu's reefs and beaches in search of exotic sea-life. "It makes Catseye's face feel like it is being squashed. How come Catseye can't just see the fishies with her eyes?" she asked her roommate curiously, since the Captain who was leading their tour was helping someone nearby and thus occupied.

Meggan chuckled as she adjusted her own mask strap, and looked over at Catseye's discomfort. "Because the water might have something in it that could hurt them. Like tiny rocks or other things floating all around in it." She shrugged. "Yeah, it does squash things--but we need it." After a moment's pause, she added with a grin, "They probably should have added tiny wipers to these things, too. To keep your sight clear, like the windshield of a car."

"Catseye bets Forge could make some," she pointed out with a grin, wading slowly out into the water for her 'test' of her equipment. The flippers were quite awkward. "Catseye never thought she would know how it feels to be a fishy!" she giggled, turning to Victor and splashing some water in his direction with one of the flippers. "What happens if we find green fishies and the fishies think Victor is one of them?" she teased.

"I think I'm more likely to be mistaken for a frog," he said with a smile, waggling a flipper against the sand. A look of absolute seriousness fell over his face. "But you should be really, really careful, Catseye. I'd be worried that a fisherman might try to catch you because they thought you were a catfish." A small smile quirked at the corner of his lips, threatening to give him away.

Catseye giggled so much she fell over into the water. "Catseye is just like a fishy! Yesyesyes! A Catfish!" She wiggled her flippers in the water, pretending they were fins. She stood back up but fell over again when she tried to take a step forward. "Walking with flippers is hard! Have Meggan and Victor done snorkeling before? Can someone show Catseye how to walk in the flippers?"

"I think it's easier if you don't try to walk in them," Victor said, grinning at Catseye's antics. "Or pick your feet up really high." He tried to demonstrate, then lost his balance when a wave hit, ending up sitting on his butt in the water. "You know, like that," he said
cheerfully.

Meggan laughed, and shook her head in the negative. She hadn’t done any snorkeling yet, but she had read quite a bit about it over the last few weeks. “Try walking like a penguin. That’s supposed to work, but I haven’t tried it yet. More waddling than walking.” She tried to demonstrate in between waves, just managing to narrowly avoid one wave—and get toppled by another. Brushing back wet hair from her face with a quirked eyebrow, she added, “In theory, it works. Try again?”

The catgirl made a face. "Catseye does not want to be a penguin! Birds are no fun. Catseye only wants to be a cat and a fishy!" She managed to get herself to a standing position and tried to walk as Meggan had suggested nonetheless, trying not to pick her feet up as Victor had suggested. "Maybe until it is deep enough to swim like a fishy it works to be a penguin," she acquiesced, waddling in a small circle and returning to her friends to help them to their feet. "Do you think we will see sharks and whales in the water or is it not deep enough?"

“It’s not really deep enough for sharks and whales, missy,” replied the captain, who had approached the three while they were distracted. He’d introduced himself as Captain Stu and he was a deeply tanned man in his fifties, close-cropped silver hair glinting in the sun. “But,” he continued, blue eyes twinkling, “There’s plenty of other things to see. Lobsters, clams, star fish, halibut, crabs, sand dollars, eels… you never know what might be down there.”

"Lobsters!" Catseye exclaimed excitedly. "Can we bring one home and make it turn the lovely colour of Yvette when we cook it in a pot?" she asked Meggan, nearly vibrating with enthusiasm.

Meggan nodded thoughtfully. “We could try—so long as nobody gets pinched badly trying to catch it. Think you can grab one without getting pinched?” After another thought occurred to her, she added with a wry grin, “And do we have a little ice chest to store it in? I think I want lobster to eat now, too.”

***

After having passed their preliminary beach tests and proving that they could swim and were competent enough with their equipment not to kill themselves, Captain Stu took his tour group up and down the coast to various sites on a small boat. It was at the third of these sites where Catseye spotted the first lobster. Flailing excitedly in the water, scaring off some of the brightly coloured fishies nearby, she tried to get the attention of Victor, who was in her line of sight, pointing madly to where the prey was resting on the bottom of the coast.

Victor--who did, in fact, look very much like a pointy-headed frog as he sliced through the water--caught Catseye's frantic waving and swam closer. He grinned through his snorkel at the purple-haired girl, flashing her a thumbs up, before diving down closer to investigate the lobster. Mindful of his flippers, as Captain Stu had given them a stern lecture on not touching the coral, he floated above the creature and watched as it scooted along the ocean floor.

Meggan swam closer, waving off a couple of bright blue fish that poked at her hair for a moment, as she observed the progress with the lobster. If Victor had any problems with wrangling the lobster, she would swim over to help. She didn’t think it would be needed, but she managed to gesture to let him know. She didn’t think it would put up much of a fuss other than trying to pinch.

Catseye swam around to cut off the lobster's escape and dove at it. She managed to get one hand around the body of it before her other hand, trying to grab at its head, got pinched. Letting out a yelp that filled her mouth and snorkel with water, her hunting instincts were
all that kept her from dropping it as she shot towards the surface of the water. She surfaced clutching her wriggling prize and made for the boat, wondering how to kill the thing now that she had it.

"Put in the net, missy," came Captain Stu's voice as a net on a long pole moved into her field of vision. The instructor eyed her carefully as she came forward, taking in the slight pluttering going on from the water she'd inhaled. "You all right?"

"Catseye is alright." She eyed the Captain warily. "Can Catseye have the lobster back later?" she questioned, hesitating. "Catseye and her friends would like to eat it."

"Of course." Captain Stu grinned. "I might even show you how to cook it."

"Yay!" She paddled over to Victor and Meggan. "Catseye caught the lobster and Vic and Meggan were good hunters to help! Now we can eat lobster!"

Meggan grinned as she paddled closer, albeit with a hit of concern. “That’s good. How’s your hand? Does it hurt?” She would celebrate catching their quarry once she was sure Catseye wasn’t bleeding.

"Yes but Catseye thinks it will feel better when she is eating lobster," the catgirl pointed out happily. "Vic and Meggan should help with hunting all the time! Catseye and Vic and Meggan make a good team that catches lobsters veryveryfast!"

"We really do," Vic agreed, smiling. It was hard not to be amused by the purple-haired girl's enthusiasm. "I think I saw another one--here, I can show you!" With a flip, he dove under the water.

The enthusiasm from Catseye was certainly infectious, and Meggan couldn’t resist it, as she shook her head in amusement. Laughingly, she added, “Maybe we could catch enough for a banquet.” She spun, and dove close behind Vic, following his lead.

He scissored down through the water, leading the trio down to a sandy spot on the floor. The lobster looked at them as they approached, claws up as though it had seen what had happened to its brethren.

Catseye took flank this time, gesturing for Meggan to be the one to go in for the hunt this time.

Meggan gave the thumbs up to show she understood, cautiously stirring up some sand in an attempt to either briefly blind or just confuse the lobster, before coming in from behind. She grabbed the body of it, and tried to remain out of reach of the pinchers—jerking out of the
way, and only getting her hair pinched, rather than her nose.

Quickly spinning in the water, Meggan started to make her way to the surface, with the lobster held out cautiously in front of her. It seemed as though it would be putting up a bit more of a fight than its friend.

Catseye clapped Meggan on the back proudly when the second lobster was in Captain Stu's net. "Meggan is a great hunter! Better at hunting lobster than Catseye because Meggan did not get pinched! Now we need to get Vic a lobster too and Catseye wants to see if boys who are like lizards are as good at hunting as girls!"

He flashed a grin at her. "If we can find one, I can catch one," Victor boasted. He took a deep breath and dove under the water again, headed for an outcropping where he thought he'd seen a pair of claws.

The lobster wasn't quite as big as the others, and it waved its claws threateningly at him as he approached. He hovered in front of it as Catseye and Meggan approached, waiting; when it turned towards the two girls, his arm snaked out and he snatched the lobster by the body. He held his prize up triumphantly, only to have it wriggle free of his grasp and float down and away from them, claws waggling in reproach.