Closed Before the Tide Rises

[Harper Alston]

Harper had always been an optimist, but it seemed she had been a little too hopeful about the weather today. It was warm and sunny, perfect beach weather if it weren't for the fact that the water was practically freezing. She supposed she could try using a warming charm or two, but she didn't want to attract any unwanted muggle attention by swimming in such cold water. Apparating away (and returning on a warmer day) was also an option, but it seemed a shame to leave the beach now that she was here. Besides, it was satisfying enough just to stand here, knee-deep in the water with the sun on her face and the sea air in her lungs.

In an attempt to just soak it all in, Harper had closed her eyes. She frowned a little when something scraped her leg but didn't open her eyes. It was only once she felt another scrape that she finally relented. Harper's gaze immediately landed on a massive crab next to her. With a strangled cry, she leapt back and instinctively tried to kick at the water in an attempt to make the creature go away. All she succeeded in doing, however, was losing her balance and landing with a crash, sending water splashing up. Harper immediately scrambled up, but it was too late: her clothes were soaked. Meanwhile, the crab was happily swimming away. Harper glanced up and locked eyes with a nearby man. "Sorry, there was a crab," she explained sheepishly. She frowned a little. "I didn't accidentally splash you, did I?"

 

[Kade Borisyuk]

Kade Borisyuk had another paper due and his work included having to do research on more of the coral. He had taken a few pictures of some and set them to the side, but now he had just finished drying off his clothes using his wand. It was an excellent device to help him out so that he did not get a cold. He stared at the edge of the beach, letting the water over his tattooed feet. He was wearing shorts, so it wasn't like getting his feet wet would be that big of a deal. That is, until a splash got him almost soaked. And it came from his right and not the front. This was not the fault of the sea. He rubbed his blue-green eyes so that he could get the salt water out. Kade cleared his eyes and in his vision was another woman. That was quite a splash to get into his face, since he broke seven feet tall. He got it from his father, who had to be tall enough to have kids with a giantess. Not that she was his mom. He was spared having that sort of height. "Sorry, you said crab?" Kade asked with his eyebrows raised. He looked over his soaked shirt and gave a small nod. The tattoo artist needed to go back to his bag to get his wand and dry off, again. "You were scared of a crab? If you kick it, it might come back to pinch your toes. Or pinch them off, depending on which type it was."​

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper winced when she saw that she'd managed to get the man's shirt wet, and she glanced around to make sure there weren't any other unwitting victims of her overreaction. "Yeah, crab," she confirmed after a moment's pause, having been ever so slightly distracted by the man's height. Between the two part-giant professors she'd had at Hogwarts — at least she'd been pretty sure Professor Ateara had been part-giant — the man wasn't the tallest person she'd ever seen. But he was definitely up there, and it was a little strange seeing someone so tall in the muggle world. Harper wondered if he was also magical, but what were the chances?

"Not scared, just startled," Harper clarified, her tone still a bit sheepish. "I don't think I've ever seen one that big." Plus, the fact that it had been swimming had caught her off-guard; most of the crabs she'd seen at the beach were, well, on the beach. Not in the water. She frowned a little at the man's words. "Are they usually that aggressive?" she asked, glancing warily about her in the water. She relaxed a bit when she caught sight of it happily swimming away, seemingly unperturbed by all the commotion. Harper gestured at it. "So is it the pinch-your-toes-off type?" she asked since the man seemed to know a lot more about giant crustaceans than she did.

((this is so late, I'm so sorry ))