The wave hit Delilah from the side but she saw it coming, managed to jump in the air slightly as it crashed onto the shore, hitting her legs and drenching her with cool, salty water. Susan was in the depths, swimming into the next wave, trying to head it off before it could crash. She dove into its center, dissappearing completely from sight.

The wave began to swell, like a boxer pulling back before throwing a powerful punch.

OOC: Yep. Sorry, next time I'll just write Strength.

Delilah flipped and splashed down. It was cold and strong. The water in the pigman's forge was thick with dead things. The ocean moved like a living creature at rest; breathing in and out.

She popped up and wiped the salt from her eyes just as Susan plowed ahead. The wave sucked the sand from under her feet. "Wait up!" She swam after her sister.

The waves loomed large and the water was suddenly choppy. The sun reflected bright off of the green water, seagulls flew above their chirping sounding like some kind of warning or alarm.

Delilah pushed forward swimming to were Susan had disappeared. She pushed through a smaller wave, coming out the other side, hair heavy with salt water, seagulls still cawing their warnings.

OOC: Delilah Rolls Wits + Composure

Delilah loved swimming. She felt like a mermaid. She broke the surface, blinking, and smoothed her hair back. Her legs scissor kicked to keep her in one spot, but the waves moved her around easily.

"Suze!" She tred water in a small circle. A deep inhale and she ducked down like a mermaid (ankles together for the tail). Her eyes were open under water, but the sea was salty. Not like the freshwater lakes where she learned to swim. She resurfaced quickly and rubbed her eyes. "Susan? C'mon, you goober."


06:05, Today: Delilah Gray failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((5,7,7)).

And don't worry about the reflexive strength thing. Too much party on my end. I wasn't paying attention.

Delilah was so surprised that she felt her heart jump all the way into he throat.

"Surprise!" Susan said after she appeared to the side of Delilah from underneath the water.

"Ha-ha! I can see by the look on your face that I gotcha!"

This version of Susan appeared to be more confident than Delilah remembered. Or maybe it was just that this Susan was more at home in the sunny, clear beach-side home than Delilah was.

"Wanna see something cool that I found!" Susan said, raising her arm and pointing downward into the water, to signal that whatever it was was under the water and probably meant that they'd both have to hold their breath.

Delilah gasped and ducked, taking in a mouthful of seawater. She came up, red-eyed and sputtering.

"Quittit!" she finally managed. "Ok, you got me. 's'notta big deal." New Susan would take some getting to used to.

When Susan pointed down, Delilah pouted and twisted her lips. Then she nodded.

Susan disappeared below the surface and Delilah soon followed. The water was warm but the further she pushed downward, the more her lungs burned.

OOC: Delilah Rolls Stamina

Delilah clenched her jaw. Her teeth ground slowly as if she could chew up the need for air and swallow it. She couldn't look weak in front of Susan. Not a third time. Her eyes cut over to Her sister. She kicked strongly to keep abreast of the small girl. Delilah might be led to this secret spot, but she wouldn't follow behind.

20:00, Today: Delilah Gray rolled 4 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((5,10(+10,3),8,7,8)).

There Delilah was, totally weightless, quietly soaring just above the sea floor with only the smallest amount of physical exertion. Small fish came out of their holes to look at her. How about that? Delilah was suddenly the curiosity. She was the thing that did not belong. She was taking part in exploring an unknown frontier. She was the observer, she looked at everything she could, forgetting the outside world.

She held her breath even longer than she thought was possible and then pushed  to follow Susan as she swam ahead.



Sunlight raked down and Delilah realized they were in some kind of underwater cove.

Eyes wide with delight, Delilah tried to follow the dart and flicker of every fish. She turned in a lazy barrel roll to see it all: white sand below, algae-covered towers, and the sunlight winking and streaming down from so far away. Her hair hollowed around her as she said her to catch up to Susan. They really were mermaids now.

"Brghhguurr..sah-srughurr" Susan said, pointing upward to show that she heading the surface.

Delilah looked up as golden rays of sun came down from above. They were in a new, wondrous area. Something was shiny. It looked like a force field was penetrating the water and shining light down into the cavernous underwater cove. She had never seen anything like it before.

Susan swam to the surface and Delilah could only see her legs as she began to tread water.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:39, Mon 01 Jan 2018.

Delilah let one, large bubble slip out: 'kay. It wobbled up to that shimmering ceiling, following Susan. It hurt, but she waited until she was sure Susan would break the surface first.

She would come back. Mermaid Cove was their secret spot. Delilah kicked and swam upwards.

The sun shone brightly on Delilah as she gasped for air. There was a circular cove that had fallen inward long ago, like some kind of crater. Now the roof of the one time volcano was gone, but the walls were still intact. Large rocks lined the walls, flush with vegetation. It was like a some kind of story-book island from a pirates book.

"This way!" Susan said, excited to show Delilah something new. "I found this the other day!" She said, feet slapping against the wet sand and heading towards a small cave.

Delilah hoisted herself out of the water and hurried after Susan. She slowed for a moment, awed by a shock of pink flowers sprouting from glistening rocks. When she saw the cave entrance ahead, the impish glee came back to her eyes.

"Race ya!"

Susan ran towards the cave, looking back at Delilah with gritty determination. A look of someone who had lost a lifetime of races. Perhaps a bit of resentment in that face. She started to run faster, hoping her early lead would prove to make her the winner.

OOC: Delilah Rolls Dexterity + Stamina vs. Susan's Dice Pool of 3. 1 Success is needed
to win. Delilah rolls first.

A cocky grin slid over Delilah's face. Then her wet foot slipped on a rock. Her arm shifted to regain balance.

20:29, Today: Delilah Gray failed (no successes) using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((3,5,7,2,7,7)).

Sad trombones

05:44, Today: Delilah's Sister - Susan Gray rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((8,2,2)).

Susan crossed the threshold of the cave first, turning around with a big smile on her face.

"Yes! Yes! I won! I won! I beat you! I beat you! Yes! Yes! Oh yes! You lost! You lost! I won! I won! You lost and I won! I'm the winner! I beat you! You lost! Because you're a loser! You lost and I won! Yes! Oh yes! I won! Did you see me win!? I won! I beat you! I beat you so bad! I was so far ahead and I beat you! And I won! I'm the winner! I'm the winner and you're the loser!"

"I am not! I am not a loser! I only let you be first!"

Delilah loomed over Susan with balled fists. The heat from her shame and anger burned away the goosebumps from swimming. She could hardly see the magical cavern. Tunnel vision narrowed on Susan's stupid, smarmy face. She shoved Susan.

"UGH!" Susan made a grunt as her butt hit the sandy beach. She looked up at Delilah with a resentful face. "you can't..." She said, voice cut off by the thud of her unceremonious landing. She sat there, looking up at Delilah with an expression resembling: yes you can and you did.

But it was a resentful expression. Delilah had seen it before whenever she put Susan in her place. Sure these were new surroundings and this was a different Susan. A more confident Susan. A child, commercial actress possibly. But it was still Susan. And Delilah was still older and stronger.

"i was just trying to show you something." Delilah weaseled, shifting all responsibility for her taunting to a different subject adopting the role of the victim.

She pointed over slightly deeper in the mouth of the cave.

And that's when Delilah saw it. Sure it was covered in sand and there was a part of it that had seaweed on it, all tangled and green. But it was unmistakable:

Her lucky scarf!

Later, Delilah might think twice about pushing around some rich kid with important parents. She could get in real trouble here. For now, she was mollified by Susan's sniveling tone. She didn't let Susan win and they both knew it. As long as Sue never admitted it, Delilah would let it go.

When Susan pointed out a lump in the sand, Delilah rocked back a step and narrowed her eyes. She suspected a trick, but it was a genuine gift: Grandma's scarf!

"No way!" All smiles, Delilah darted over to the long lost scarf and tugged it out of the seaweed. It was gross, all slimy and rank. And the grains of sand were rough against her cheeks, but she hugged it anyway. "How...how'd you find it?" The words stuck in her throat. It was a stupid question. Susan found it because of the puppet and the wish, but she couldn't thank Clayton or Bradford right now.

OOC: Delilah regains Merit 'Prized Possession: Scarf'

"I don't know." Susan said, forgetting about being dominated by Delilah as the tone shifted to discovery and awe.

"I don't know...I mean. Not about how I found it. But about how or why I came here to find it. It was like I was just swimming but I knew where to go and kind of why I was coming here to get the scarf."

"I guess...I'm not sure how to answer."

Delilah cradled her lucky scarf and brushed the dirt and muck away. Her expression softened as her sister explained best she could.

"Oh. That's, uh, that's real...um...y'know. It's good. So..."

Delilah rubbed her hand on her elbow to clean off a bit of seaweed sludge. She stuck out her hand to help Susan up. Apologizing was hard. So was saying thank you.

Susan grabbed the hand and pulled herself up, avoiding eye contact. Then after an awkward moment, her eye's lit up.

"But there's more!" She said. She shuffled her feet across the sand and wandered deeper into the cave, past the mouth of craggy rocks covered with green seaweed.

"There's some kind of machine in here. I saw it last time. And the weird thing is, I dreamed about it. It's kind-a weird huh? Having a dream and then knowing where to go to go see the things in your dream."

Then she turned around and looked at Delilah, stopping inside the cave, shadow covering half her face from the sun.

"You ever think about that? This could be a dream right now. Or maybe you're a robot. And everyone is a robot. And I'm the only one who isn't a robot. How do I know you aren't some kind of robot right now?"

Susan got to her feet and led the way deeper into the cave. Delilah absent-mindedly wiped her hand on her side. As if contact with her sister was just as icky as clinging seaweed.

"Yeah? What kinda machine?" she asked warily, though she had a sinking feeling that she already knew.

Then Susan said something strange. Delilah stopped in her tracks, frowning. "I'm not a robot. I'm real! Really me! It's all real." She twisted the scarf and held it close. If she let go of it now, it might all disappear forever.

"It's a robot!" Susan said, liking the two conversations together and pointing towards the machine where Delilah had made her wish.

The creepy Fortune Teller machine. It was sitting on an angle against the bedrock of the cave, covered in sand and seaweed. It looked old and corroded with time. Like it had been left there for years. The metal parts on the inside were covered in rust. It was missing one eye and the painted face and turban were chipped and faded.