Catch a Wave (Ended)

[Lux]

Summer had arrived in all its glory and with it the ponies living near Sesaddle Bay and tourists alike started to visit the beach to swim, build sand castles, or just to relax.

A yellow and blue griffon walked from his beach house wearing sunglasses and carrying a surfboard on his back.

"First day of summer," he said looking down at the ocean that called to him like a long lost friend, "This is going to be totally awesome! I just have to wait until the high tide for some radical waves to come."

[Gerrard]

The glorious weather had brought all kinds of creatures to the beach on the warm afternoon, their forms absorbing the sun as best as they could. While the city primarily housed ponies, a second griffon was looming in the depths of the ocean, rummaging through the reefs for lost treasure. After a few short moments of searching, a glimmer caught the eye of a goggle wearing griffon as she snatched up her bounty in a black claw. As quickly as she had descended, the dark feathered hybrid shot up towards the surface like a well oiled machine.

A torpedo of feathers and fur breached the surface of the ocean as a peculiar looking griffon landed gracefully on the beach. Her sleek form was dripping water everywhere as she slipped off her goggles and took a glance at her prize. A shimmering pearl rest peacefully atop her overturned talon as she examined the small object of value. While she didn't explicitly state her approval, the tail of the young hybrid was wagging fiercely before she raised her rose gaze up to see a quickly approaching figure.

She didn't often see griffons about, especially ones that weren't her parents, the young diver waving excitedly after the opportunity to make a new friend presented itself. "Hi Mister, what's your name? I'm Aquaria, nice to meet you," she remarked with a giggle, her hips shaking as she tried to quell her excitement. Everyone was a potential friend to share and enjoy adventures with, the young diver could only hope that his personality was as colourful as his feathers.

[Lux]

Riptide was about to enter the water with his board when he suddenly saw something fire out of the ocean, landing nearby. Although he didn't quite see what it was, it looked like another griffon. It was the first time that the griffon saw another of his kind and with his interest peaked decided that the waves would have to wait for later. He had time for high tide wasn't going to be for a few hours.

[colour=#daa520]"Hey there," [/colour]he said, [colour=#daa520]"I'm Riptide. I gotta say it's totally awesome seeing another griffon here. I thought I was, you know the only one here, you know? Whoa! That's a really radical looking pearl you have there. Are you gonna make in into a necklace or something?" [/colour]

[Gerrard]

The dark griffon listened patiently to him, her eyes widening as she heard him speak with a surfer accent. She always saw surfers about, but most weren't very interested in talking to her. She glanced back at her black wings and grabbed her beak with a pair of equally dark talons before giggling lightly. "I've been told that I'm a griffon. The stories are true, yay!" she cheered, wrapping the surfer in a tight hug. She quickly released her male counterpart and glanced at her pearl.

"Well, my parents are griffons too. That makes even more. Well, my mum is in town at least. She sings at local tavern. I think our last name is Sirensong because she is a singer that the patrons can't look away from," she explained excitedly while down playing why others might like her mum.

When she heard him mention the pearl, she giggled lightly and presented it to him. "Oh this bro? This beaut? You can have this gnarly stone," she replied with a well rehearsed voice as she tried to contain her excitement.

[Lux]

Riptide could see the griffon looked surprised at the way he spoke. There were some who looked at him strangely when he talked but thankfully none so far decided to tease him about it. What surprised him the most was that she looked like she was confused about being a griffon. Even stranger was when she gave him a big hug like the two had known each other for years.

[colour=#daa520]"You look like you didn't know for a moment that you are a griffon. Are you sure you're ok, like you didn't drink any ocean water? That stuff can be gnarly if you take too much in."[/colour]

After talking about her mother, Aquaria tried her best surfer impression her which made the griffon laugh.

[colour=#daa520]"I think you got my accent totally down there. But are you sure you want to, like give up your prized pearl? I mean especially after working hard to get it." [/colour]

[Gerrard]

She looked at him with a straight face, the hybrid clicking her head to the side in a confused manner. She glanced down at the dark digits of her talons and gasped loudly. "Ahh, my hoof splintered," she exclaimed with a fake voice as her tail wagged excitedly.

Aquaria seemed to be aware of her actual species, even if she was acting strangely. "I wouldn't drink salt water. It is really bad for you. Don't do that silly," she playfully scolded him, poking her friend on the beak as she giggled at his remark.

Her hips shaked as she got the chance to comment on the accent. "I get to hear tubular surfers talk about pipes and stuff. Funny stuff, there aren't pipes out here! You would think so though, with all the gnarled surfers I have to pull out of the ocean," she added in her usual enthusiastic manner while she hinted at her profession.

When he hesitated to take the pearl, the young diver smiled as she squealed with excitement. "Aww, that is so heartwarming. You don't want to take my valued possession. I have a full set at home. If I give this to you though, you will always remember the person who gave it to you. I would just remember that I plucked it out of some clam In the ocean. It's more useful for you, right?" Aquaria explained as she presented the lustrous orb go him.

[Lux]

When Aquaria suddenly mentioned her hoof splitting with a giggle Riptide could tell that the griffon was simply a very giddy one. Her high spirit was kind of cute for the male griffon, pulling him into wanting to get to know her more.

[colour=#daa520]"Well, when I saw something is a pipe, it means that a wave curled in on itself so it kind of looks like a pipe. Those are the best waves to ride, but some surfers end up wiping out on them. I guess that's where you come in with rescuing them."[/colour]

Riptide was excited that Aquaria gave him something that she wanted him to remember her by.

[colour=#daa520]"Wow. Thanks for that awesome gift. You know, you're really nice. I mean, I'm new here so I'm still trying to get used to this place and make friends and all. Actually, let me take this back home and I'll be right back. Just, like don't go anywhere, ok?"[/colour]

[SonicRainboomGirl]

Giftshop owner Seashell was walking leisurely along the beach, like she did every day. She was looking for shells that she could somehow make tacky trinkets out of, and she was hoping to meet new ponies as well. She loved everything about the beach. She loved the soft sand under her hooves, and she loved smelling the calm, salty ocean in the air. Everything was so perfect at the beach.

Suddenly in her field of vision she saw something truly incredible. She saw two griffons! She'd never seen a griffon before, and she had always wanted to meet one. She wasn't sure if they had good temperaments or not, but she was excited to find out. She walked right up to them, smiling pleasantly.

[colour=#696969]"Hi there! I haven't seen you two around before. I'm Seashell, it's a pleasure to meet you!"[/colour]

[Gerrard]

Aquaria was about to wave goodbye to her friend when a pony approached the pair from across the beach. Her tail wagged lightly as she turned to address her potential new friend. There were so many new faces coming around that she had to befriend them all. If it meant diving for hours to find another jewel for this new pony, it would be worth it to her. Her rose coloured eyes looked the store owner over, taking in the features of the cheerful pony. "Hi Seashell, I'm Aquaria and he is a riptide," she joked playfully for the pony as she oddly extended both of her talons towards the pony for a shake, something that would be impossible to manage if she weren't sitting on her haunches.

She wanted to hug the pony, but left it up to her to reply to the friendly gesture. "Can I hold onto your surfboard while you go tuck away the pearl?" she asked the male griffon in an excited voice as she did her best to maintain her composure.

[Lux]

Before Riptide could leave for his beach house, another beachgoer appeared. This time it was an earth pony who looked like upon seeing him and Aquaria that she had never seen a griffon before. It was just as well though, as Riptide knew that moving to this area meant that many ponies would be interested in him.

Riptide was about to introduce himself to Seashell but Aquaria instead decided to make a pun out of his name! Well, at least he wasn't called by the dreadful nickname Rip, a name that was the source of teasing among the other fellow fledgling griffons back in his hometown.

[colour=#0000cd]"Oh very funny Aquaria," [/colour]he said rolling his eyes at the female griffon, [colour=#0000cd]"but yeah, my name is Riptide[/colour][colour=#0000cd]. Nice to meet you Seashell. Anyway, I have to drop off something at my house but I'll be right back." [/colour]

Riptide was about to try and leave a second time but then Aquaria asked to hold his surfboard. The thought issues an involuntary reaction to which he held the board tighter to him like a griffon protecting his brood. There was not only the nagging feeling that it would get lost or broken but also the greater fear was that if he gave up the board somepony or griffon would get hurt trying to use it. But seeing the excitement in the female griffon's eyes allayed his fears.

[colour=#0000cd]"Alright, I'll give you the board as long as you promise not to try and surf with it. And please keep it safe too, ok? I made that board so it's like my awesome sidekick." [/colour]

[Gerrard]

The griffon giggled lightly as the surfer rolled his eyes at her. She enjoyed spending time with people and hanging out, even if things didn't quite go as planned. She held on tight to his board as he ran home to drop his stuff off for safe keeping. "I will protect it with my life! You can count on me," she cheered in a clearly upbeat manner. Her eyes traced over the board, looking at the craftsmanship and dedication that went into building it. She smiled slightly and remembered her promise to not go surfing, the young adult griffon giggling as she got an idea. Aquaria looked around shyly, spotting only a few beach goers out at this time of the day, most not seeming very interested in her at all. "Alright, time to ride a wave!" she cheered playfully, pointing a dark talon at the sky and she placed the board on the sand upside down.

She made sure that the fins were pointing up, not wanting to damage them as she hopped atop the slick board. Her hind paws held onto the object while she awkwardly held onto the front of the board with her talons. After a few shaky moments, the griffoness giggled and lifted a claw from the board and moved it in a wave motion while making silly water noises. While it wasn't remotely like surfing, it was close enough to at least entertain the hybrid with the short attention span. After flailing about on the board for a few minutes, she quickly grew bored and huddled up on the middle of the long slick object. Her feathers and fur puffed out lightly as she patiently waited for the return of Riptide, her presence there to merely keep the board safe.

[Lux]

Riptide rushed back after depositing the pearl at his beach home and then returned back to where Aquaria was. He watched as the playful griffon acted as if she was on the waves, flailing her talons and making water noises which sounded like a clogged sink rather than an ocean. Then she seemed to collapse on the board, keeping it safe and unaware that he was watching.

[colour=#daa520]"I really love your surfing technique. It's like, you're dancing on the board. While making funny voices. Err... do you want to learn how to surf?" [/colour]

[Gerrard]

Aquaria giggled as he complimented her, the goofy hybrid not sure of if he was truly impressed. She thought he was probably just being nice, but even still, it made her feel better. She quickly tumbled off the board and glanced back at him with a smile. "Thanks, I never really tried to dance, that is something more like my mother might do," the griffon cheered excitedly as she looked up at her new friend expectantly. When she heard that he said she was making funny noises though, she lurched forward with a serious look on her face, seeming almost insulted by his joke for some reason.

After getting uncomfortably close, she opened her talons and gave Riptide a large griffon hug, lightly lifting him off the ground before releasing him and patiently sitting on her haunches. "I would love to learn how to surf! Do you know anyone who knows how?" she joked, poking her tongue out at him playfully. She had never really tried to surf, the griffoness only getting thrown back to shore by waves when she recovered lost boards.

[Lux]

Riptide didn't know what to think about this griffon. At first she was playfully talking with him and then she suddenly stared at him as if he did something wrong! He gulped thinking that Aquaria was about to do something when suddenly she playfully picked him up in a hug, dropping him on his tail.

[colour=#daa520]"Oh very funny," [/colour]Riptide said to her comment of finding somepony, or griffon, that could teach her, [colour=#daa520]"alright let me get this board ready."[/colour]

Using his talon, Riptide dug a hole in the sand and then lay the board fins down. The hole would ensure that the fins wouldn't get damaged.

[colour=#daa520]"Alright, so because we're like griffons we can just, you know, pick up a board and fly to where we want on the ocean. But before I teach you how to surf, you need to find out where to go."[/colour]

Riptide then pointed to an area where the waves were forming and starting to curl.

[colour=#daa520]"See that? That's where the waves start. You want to be near there to catch a perfect wave. Now you also need to know when high tide is because the closer you are to that the sweeter the ride. Follow me so far?" [/colour]

[Gerrard]

Aquaria smiled widely as he sighed at her joke. He didn't seem to enjoy her jokes as much as she had hoped, that of course meant that she had to go about it in a different way! As he dug in the ground, her rose eyes watched him intently, the young griffon sitting on her haunches as he prepared the board for her. She rubbed her talons together in anticipation as he was about to divulge some secret to being a master surfer. And while it was rather obvious to most where a good place to catch a wave was, hearing it from a professional only served to solidify any theories she might have had.

"The magic spot, the most important spot," she cheered excitedly, the hybrid pointing a black talon at the spot he had mentioned earlier. "Yeah, I follow you! And it makes sense that high tide would make larger waves," she answered back, nodding in understanding of him as he spoke to her. "Now if you go right to where the water crashes down, it can help you dive by slamming you on the bottom of the ocean floor. You would be surprised how many pony surfers seem to use that technique. I always have to help them find the surface of the water. Getting lost underwater isn't good for your health," Aquaria explained with a giggle as she pointed at a wave crashing into the ocean in front of them.

"What next teacher," she added expectantly as she waited for the next lesson. It was fun for her getting private lessons, she always thought that school was fun, especially when the teachers said everypony and awkwardly glanced at her and said griffon too.

[Lux]

Riptide love Aquaria's excitement, even though sometimes she was sometimes overly excited. Clearly she was not only interested in what she had to say but she was eager to learn how to surf.

[colour=#daa520]"Awesome, you totally got that! Yeah the ocean is indeed magical like that, sometimes you get that perfect wave that you can ride for a long time, the kind that takes you back to the shore. Those are the ones that I love to ride! Anyway yeah the way the wave crashes at the end is great finding the bottom in case you're lost, but you have to be careful that you don't hit a rock either by yourself or your board. These boards are pretty strong but really they're just made of sanded wood and waterproofed. Oh, speaking of boards, you don't want to ride a board a pony uses. Since we as griffons are larger, we need a wider board. Believe me I once tried riding a pony's board and had a gnarly wipeout with one! Now the next thing to do is get on the board stomach down and talons out, like you're flying. So let's see that!" [/colour]

[Gerrard]

She listened to her tutor closely, her rose eyes transfixed on the surfer as he started his lesson. She sat on the sand and nodded as he spoke, most of what he said making sense to her. "Position is everything," she commented with her mischievous grin as she got into a pouncing position on the beach. "So I need to escape the wave before it collapses on me at the end? I guess that makes a lot of sense. I see all the good surfers shoot out of a wave and avoid it falling on them," Aquaria added, placing her talon on her beak as she thought about the words of her friend.

"Yeah, these boards are really strong, they are claw proof," she announced with a laugh as she pulled out her talons and placed them on the board. She dragged her claw across the board and removed it, acting as if she had tried to scratch his board. "Scratch proof," she announced with a grin before showing that it wasn't actually harmed. The young griffoness took back the board as he mentioned that they needed larger ones. She looked around and spotted a few ponies on noticeably smaller boards.

"You're right, we are bigger than ponies," she added with a sense of realization as she looked back on herself. The griffon was genuinely surprised, the hybrid seeming so used to being around ponies that she just assumed she was about the same size as a pony. Aquaria giggled, realizing that a lot of ponies didn't like her hugs because she was probably crushing them. "I guess we are a little bit bigger than ponies," the dark griffon commented with a nervous laugh, starting to realize that she had some apologies to give. "So, uh I get in this position." she asked in an unsure manner as she slid onto the board in her usual crouched position. Aquaria gripped the board tightly with her claws and spread her wings wide, black feathers fully shown as she waited for her directions.

[Lux]

"Totally," Riptide said smiling at the fact that Aquaria seemed to be listening to his impromptu lesson. The griffoness seemed to crouch into a pouncing posittion as if she was about to tackle him. Thankfully she didn't and merely went on listening to him.

"You want to bail out of the board if it looks like it's going to come down on you. Otherwise you'll be tossed about in the ocean. That happened to me when a wave caused me to wipe out. I ended up with a broken board, a hurt wing and a stomach full of salt water after that. Totally not cool."

Riptide's eyes went wide as she saw Aquaria look like she was digging a talon into his board. Thankfully she didn't damage the board.

"Yeah those boards are pretty strong," Riptide said with a relief as she set the board down, "They're waterproof too. Have to be with surfing. Actually the secret is ussing wax on the board. that makes it easier to ride on a wave."

The blue and yellow griffon noticed that Aquaria didn't really recognize that she was bigger than a normal pony. For a griffon so used to ponies she seemed to not realize this. Maybe it was that she thought she was more pony like than griffon or that it was that being with them she felt like one of them. The realization made her uncomfortable laugh as no doubt she underestimated her size or strength with a pony before.

"Ok that looks pretty good being on the board. Mainly you're not going to gripping the board with your talons. You just kind of lay on it, like on a bed. Now since we're griffons we can use our wings to balance on a board especially for a surfing part. For now let's just get to the next step. So start moving like you're paddling in the water!"

[Gerrard]

She frowned visibly as he explained what happens when you wipe out. While it might have seemed like worry about getting herself hurt, she actually was more concerned with her new friend. "Ahh, are you okay? Did you survive? Or are you a crippled husk of your former self," she asked in a concerned voice even though he was clearly still okay.

Regardless, she laid out her body on the board, loosening the tension inside of her as she relaxed her form in front of him. "Oh yeah, you have to paddle to lick onto the wave, like this," she cheered, Aquaria able to powerfully paddle with her claws from years of swimming. Sand flew up into the ocean as she went full throttle, practically digging holes on each side of the board.

After 'paddling' as hard as she could, the young diver glanced over to her instructor waiting to get graded for her efforts. She didn't seem too nervous though, her striped tail wagging contently as she enjoyed the weather.

[Lux]

Riptide looked at the griffon confused at her concern. He certainly survived, otherwise he wouldn't be giving the surfing lessons to her!

"Nah, I was ok. Just some scraped and bruises. Nothing too gnarly.I was out surfing again the next day."

Before he could react, Aquaria started "paddling," throwing talons full of dirt right at him. He managed to dodge the majority of them when one pile of sand struck him in his face. Riptide coughed out some sand that got in his mouth before facing the griffoness.

"Great! You'll be surfing in no time! So now that I can see you know how to paddle, the last part is getting up on the board. Now you'll be on your stomach, but eventually you'll need to get back on all fours. Now you don't want to apply too much pressure to the front of the board as it'll dip into the ocean and cause you to wipe out. Same goes for being too close to the back. So, you'll want to quickly stand up on the center of the board when you see a wave coming. So let's see you get up as quickly as possible on the board!"

[Gerrard]

"Oh, it was but a flesh wound! In fact you should have the other guy I gave him the once over," she replied with a clearly fake fancy voice as she made light of the incident. Aquaria giggled at her own remark covering her beak with a sandy talon as she fruitlessly tried to hide her laughter. In the end, all she succeeded at was getting sand on her face.

The younger griffon nodded intently for him as he explained how to get up while on the board. It seemed simple enough to her. Getting up, that was something anyone could do, surely all the ponies who fell off the board just had poor balance! "Here I go," she declared triumphantly, hopping up onto all fours, her strong talons forcing part of the board into the sand as she gracelessly assumed her position.

"Ta da," she declared proudly, sitting on her haunches as if she had completed some sort of elaborate masterpiece. "How did I do boss? Standing up is easy, I think," she commented with a goofy grin on her maw.

[Lux]

Riptide laughed at the goofy griffoness's accent. She was certainly funny but smart as well. The way that she acted and talked made the male griffon smile.

"Heh, looks like you got a little sand on your face there," he said with a laugh, "Hang on, let me get that off."

Taking his talon he pulled out a gold feather from his wing and proceeded to dust off his friend's face.

"That's better. And here, you can have the feather to, you know, remember me by."

The griffon watched as Aquaria stood up on the board. He knew standing up was easy on land and she seemed to do so quickly.

"Great! Now things will be a little rougher out there on the ocean, and if you can't stand up fast enough you'll be getting a face full of water. Really after that it's a matter of hanging on and using your body to balance on the board. So now you know how to surf, want to try it?"

[Gerrard]

Aquaria giggled and squirmed as he cleaned her face with one of his brightly colored feathers. It tickled, but she masterfully held back a sneeze as she tried not to embarrass herself.

When he offered her the feather though, the darker hybrid paused for a moment, unsure of what to do. Her rose colored eyes looked around for a place to store his plumage. "I know, I can place it here in the sand and we can use it as a marker until we are done surfing! Then I can take it home and show it off," she excitedly explained, lightly chewing on the feather before planting it in the ground.

Aquaria did a quick about face and gazed off into the inviting ocean in front of them. "Let's go conquer the ocean! It will be fun at least," she added with a giggle, snatching up the heavy board and floating off over the ocean while she looked for an ideal spot to start.

[Lux]

Riptide smiled as Aquaria laughed while cleaning her face with his feather. There was no doubt that she had a cute laugh which added to her friendly outgoing personality. But Riptide also just liked laughter as it was a sign of happiness, a sound he loved to hear while ponies played on the beach.

"Cool, I think we'll be able to find that feather when we get back. Hey, even if it's blown away or washed away, I have like a hundred or so more to give you. Of course I can't give you them all or else I'd look really weird."

With that Riptide laughed picturing himself without any feathers, just the pink flesh underneath.

"Alright then, we'll head out to the waves. It's nearing high tide so it'll be a little rough for a first timer out there, but i think you can handle it. Plus I don't think there will be any wicked waves out there. Wait right here while I get another board."

Riptide then took off back to his beach house, hoping to find a board quickly to return to meeting Aquaria again.

[Gerrard]

"Yes sir," she cheered for her friend giving him a customary royal guard pony salute. While she may have had a bubbly personality, the young griffon was patient. At least patient enough to occupy herself for short spans of time.

His disappearance left Aquaria to her own devices. The young diver decided to see how heavy his board was, scooping it up in her strong swimmer talons. She was surprised with how light it felt, the diver able to circle it with ease as she sat on the beach, giggling to herself.

It was quite the spectacle, a goofy looking hybrid tossing the board around like dead weight. Regardless, it was safe in her capable claws. She almost never dropped anything, and an object as big as this board could never squirm away from her!