Ducks, Hawks, and Eggplants ((Attn: Gerrard))

[Imagination]

A day off! He hated days off, really. He didn't have an excuse to travel. Sure he got to work on his Aubergine garden, but that only took so much time out of the day. Nothing outstandingly spectacular. He decided to spend his time at the local swimming hole. Not that he particularly enjoyed swimming, he just liked the sand and the heat of the sun. Best way for a lazy griffon to spend his time. Especially if he had a good book-!

Which... He left at home. Shoot. He didn't feel like going back. He had gone too far.

The SandcatHawk sat in the sand, watching the ponies and their families have their fun. But then... He spotted her!

He was surprised to see another griffon, but this was a nice-looking lady griffon! A DuckTiger! An exotic, aquatic beauty! Wow.

But she was a lifeguard! She actually did important stuff for a living, he couldn't top that... GAH, he was awful at this stuff! Well, thinking up introductions on the fly he was good at, but when he had to say hello to a classy chick. THAT was the challenge. What he devised was the only idea that could conceivably work.

Suddenly, Aubergine the sandcathawk griffon took off into the sky and took aim for the water. He was going to wow her with acrobatics and awesome skill! He made like a bullet for the water, dropping from the sky into the swimming hole with a big splash! SPLOOSH!

But what he didn't know was that hitting the water at a high speed from a high height... kinda hurts. The stunned griffon stayed underwater for a bit longer than usual. By the time he got his bearings, he realized how far he had sunk. He still had lungs full of air so he could easily get to the top... Buuuuut... He could just stay down there. It was nice and cool, and floating underwater was a neat feeling. Maybe he could impress her with how long he could hold his breath!

Or... No! he knew exactly what he was doing. Pretending to drown! Yes! That would get the lovely griffonguard's attention! Yes! She would save him, and he could break the ice from there! So thankful would he be that he just has to repay her!

It was fool proof.

Except if he actually drowns. The building pressure in his chest was making him take pause for thought.

[Gerrard]

Aquaria loved the beach more than anyone she had ever seen. If she didn't go for a day, that awkward sand beneath her toes feeling entered her mind and begged her into a dive into the salty depths. And it didn't take much for her to take a dive, the griffoness just needing an excuse, no matter how paper thin it was. Aquaria had spent so much time in the sun that if she wasn't covered in feathers and fur her body would have been roasted into a cooked duck.

The hybrid peered up to the sun and longingly hoped for an excuse to get wet but remembered her scolding for swimming on the job. Something about not being able to see the forest from the trees. That didn't make any sense to her though because trees don't live in the water, except kelp and seaweed, but those were like special plants. Ones that even ponies wouldn't eat unless they were used in sushi. She loved sushi, it had fresh fish, but ponies preferred rice or some other bland vegetable thingy. Ponies didn't really like meat and she didn't understand how anyone could dislike glorious fish!

After what seemed like days or years of internal monologues, her fish induced stupor was broken as a loud slapping of water filled the air. She shook her head and spotted a griffon sinking into the water. She remembered her instructor yelling at her and explaining that not everyone who flies can swim. She often giggled at the notion because water did the flying for you, but after a bunch of scoldings, she was forced to assume the worst.

Aquaria gasped in an alarmed manner and swooped into action. Her sleek striped form shot across the sky as her black wings carried her into the sky. She adjusted her trusted diving goggles and peered down into the icy blue water. With a steep dive, she breached the surface of the water at a quick speed, the fast hybrid snatching up his 'lifeless' body as she practically knocked him silly with her quick response. She embraced him with her claws and kicked her paws and wings until the pair reached the surface. "Breathe," she pleaded in a cute voice that mixed fear and excitement. As frightening as it was to meeat a drowning person, it was also her opportunity to meet a person who liked swimming too. They probably could use lessons too, and she loved to teach. The hybrid carried him towards the beach as her mind drifted over the all the fun things she could do with the unfortunate victim.

[Imagination]

His ruse worked surprisingly well! Almost frighteningly so. He heard the crash of water, and a sudden impact that knocked the wind out of him! He was being saved! Rather aggressively! He just had to play it cool! He felt the hottness and brightness of the sun as they broke the surface, and his eyes twitched a bit at the sudden light... But he kept them closed.

He was planning for a dramatic coming to, with an 'omg you saved me' theme, but hearing her pleading for breath, now he just felt like a jerk. Who was he to alarm the shegriff? His pathetic ploy to gain her attention was putting actual fear into her! But rather than satisfy his conscience and tell her the truth, he decided to hold his breath. He was in too deep! He had to keep lying! Hopefully he could find a way to salvage this. He wasn't sure now, but maybe if he timed it just right, he could just make a sudden recovery and- No, that seemed even worse. Of course he held his breath the whole time he thought, not wanting to be called out on his ruse before he even had a chance to make it better. Luckily he had snuck a quick breath as they broke the water, so he had a little more time to think...

Gosh, she was probably going to be so angry if she found out he was just trying to impress her... But at least he didn't do it in his usual fashion that didn't work.

[Gerrard]

Aquaria wasn't the type to stay scared or worried for too long, the eternal optimist too easily distracted to focus on anything bad. She could get scared, but it would only last until the next shiny distraction caught her attention or the thought of a great meal disrupted her fear sensors! Regardless, the happy hybrid dragged the 'unconscious' sandcat onto the beach. Her rose colored eyes could detect what seemed like shallow or labored breathing as he struggled to hold his breath. She had done this dozens of time, the griffoness having to resuscitate many ponies in her day. They usually thanked her by coughing water into her face and panicking as they saw a griffon with an open maw above them. The lifeguard usually giggled at the spectacle and growled playfully at the scared ponies before explaining she had saved their lives.

Today was her first time doing actual CPR on a griffon though! She was clearly excited about it for one reason or another, the lifeguard really bad at being nervous. She carefully laid Aubergine on his back and leaned over his face as if she were about to perform beak to beak. But suddenly, without warning, Aquaria placed her talons on his chest as if she were checking for a pulse. "Okay, don't worry I know proper chest compressions, they are best at reviving ponies," she explained with a warm smile, before suddenly bouncing into action before any protests could be made. "Adults need compressions of at least two inches, and it is preferable to do 100 a minute," she explained to the unconscious hybrid as she started compressing his chest roughly with all of her might. Thankfully for the faker, he was 'unconscious' and this probably didn't hurt (probably?).

After compressing his probably flailing body, she decided to check for a pulse on the living sandcat. She placed a talon to his neck and took his pulse. While some might consider it obvious that he was alive by his movement, she had to check, just to be sure that he wasn't a zombie. Zombies were bad, they ate ponies and didn't afraid of anything! Or so her school fiction books said in the past! "You okay Sandy?" she asked in a warm and concerned voice as she looked over the drenched griffon and came up with a name for her new victim!

[Imagination]

Had everything gone according to Aubergine's plan, it would have been her lucky day! Rather than panic at the sight of a griffon with an open maw, she would have gotten ecstatic jubilation and thank yous! But, everything did not go to his poorly thought plans. In fact, it almost seemed as if his efforts were going to pay off after all! Wait, proper chest compressions...?! He forgot about that part!

But by the time it hit him, it was too late. Before he could say anything, his breath was stolen from him with a hard 'crack' in his chest, the indeed flailing griffon enduring quite a bit of trauma. Oh the humanity! Now he was fearful of his life rather than fearful of making a fool of himself! He could see the headlines flash before his eyes! 'Local lifeguard kills local griffon because he was a faking dork'. Indeed, when it was all over he felt closer to death than he ever was when he was actually rescued, eyes wide with horror and pain as he gasped for air once he was able.

He almost flinched when she checked his pulse again. Not a zombie! Thank goodness. One could only imagine what she might be trained to do to a zombie.

Thankfully, her checking up on him did take his mind off the the fear for his life and the intense pain in his ribs. "Yup~!" came his very strained response, a weak talon giving her the 'thumbs up'. Hopefully she would just let him lay here for awhile. A few months or so. Or forever. He didn't want to think about how many ponies must have watched this spectacle. He had a lot more romantic introductions in mind, but they didn't involve getting his ribs bruised before, so he had to improvise in this instance. "Thank you, gorgeous~" 'Ducky' seemed pretty impersonal to him.

[Gerrard]

When he spoke weakly, it could have been mistaken as a dying last breath, but Aquaria knew better! Her patented technique always saved the day. She was so great at it that a stallion even asked her to show him proper CPR once, he was so impressed that he clutched his chest and was breathless from her execution! It couldn't have been that she actually hurt the living, that would just be awful! She smiled wide as he gave her a sign of approval with a thumbs up talon digit. Her striped tail wagged excitedly as she lifted him up and hugged his tired form, the diver only lightly crushing him as she flailed him around in her grip.

When he called her gorgeous, she giggled and squeezed him even tighter before releasing his damaged frame. "Aww, my name isn't gorgeous, it is Aquaria. Unless you mean that my name is gorgeous, but then you would have had to know my name. And if you knew my name, that must make you a spy, oooooo, I always wanted to meet a spy," she reasoned aloud with great confidence, even though she clearly was just randomly guessing. She was the type who was okay being wrong, the diver more used to just throwing out a bunch of wild guesses and seeing what stuck.

"What's your name? Most of the ponies I know spit out a bunch of water when I revive them. I don't remember reading that griffons were special in that regard," Aquaria commented with a giggle as she gently pried open his beak without asking to look inside his mouth that was mostly devoid of ocean water. She raised her brow suspiciously at oddity of the situation as if she were onto him. Something didn't quite add up, but she wasn't saying anything, at least not yet. And then suddenly without warning, everything came together in her mind as she figured him out!

"Oh I know who you are! You're the life guard instructor. You crashed in the water and faked drowning so you could test me. Did I pass mister?" she asked in a cute and completely random and unreasoned manner. It was quite clear that Aquaria went with the first thoughts that entered her mind, regardless of how terribly short sighted they probably were.