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Tianara flashed a quick grin. "She thinks she's subtle, but she's not," she said lightly, laughter in her eyes. "She probably didn't want us to know. You might have ruined it for her a little," she added with a chuckle. "Wishing them good luck and all."

The boat was rocking, and she didn't like it one bit. But she found that if she let herself kind of sway with the boat's movement instead of sitting rigid as a stone, it was easier to settle. So she went with the movement, and after a while she was nearly relaxed while she waited with Joshua for the merfolk to come back.

"Hey, Joshua?" she asked at last. "How do you know so much about this part of the cliffs? Do you come here a lot?"

He seemed to know how to manoeuvre around it, and she found herself a little curious about how he did things like that if he hadn't been at the cliffs very often. On the other hand, what was there at the cliffs worth taking a boat out for?

Katalina had yet to return, so she thought Joshua might have the chance to answer.

((OOC: Sorry for the wait, Lucky - university beckons, and in three days I am off. What have I done to get ready? Precisely nothing. >.> Well, I mean, I've started to pack, but that's about it.))

Tianara nodded, but her expression betrayed the fact that she didn't get it. The idea of personal challenges, sure, but risking one's life in a little boat on big waves...not so much. Maybe it was her own history, but even on the calmest waters, boats seemed like a threat. To deliberately take one into the dangerous waters by the cliff? Insanity was the only possible response.

Before she could speak, and betray any of what she was actually thinking, Katalina resurfaced with an easy smile. "Stuck?" she inquired. "Come on, we'll give you a lift. We found you a cavern that seems to suit the requirements, but you'll have to see it to decide for sure." She reached up and took the rope at the front of the boat. It would be easy enough for her to tow the thing - with the water's lift, it wasn't very heavy, and she knew the waters here much better than even the most experienced boater.

With a flick of her tail, she added, "Hold on, you two," and took off towards the cliff face.

((OOC: Speaking of which, Silent is at her new school. HOW BOUT THAT.))

Katalina towed the boat carefully through the waters, occasionally dropping back to guide it with her hands instead. It made things a little simpler for her, and ensured that the two in the boat wouldn't so much as brush the rocks. Knowing Tianara, that alone would be enough to make her jump and swim for it.

After a few minutes of traversing the rapids carefully, she pulled a sharp left and led them to an open cavern. It was barely high and wide enough for the boat, but it might fit with some careful manoeuvring.

Pulling back, Katalina looked to the two in the boat. "What do you think?" she asked. Water expert she might be, but a boat expert she was not. So she waited for their opinions, as one expert respecting another.

((OOC: Haven't gone to any classes yet - they don't start 'til Wednesday. But it's okay so far.))

Tianara felt the colour rise to her cheeks when Joshua grinned at her. Yes, okay, so she'd been sitting still as a stone the entire time the boat was being towed. She was embarrassed that he'd noticed, but that didn't explain why she was quite this flushed.

She dismissed it. It wasn't as though she was obviously feeling any different. Her friend was making fun of her, so she was blushing. That was all.

And if she wasn't entirely sure she knew enough about people to be positive about that, she controlled the thought so sternly that not even she was fully aware of it.

Katalina, oblivious to Tianara's thoughts, smiled up at Joshua. "All right," she replied. "I'll guide the front. You navigate. Tianara can...Tia? Tianara."

The girl glanced up, startled. "What? Oh. What?"

The mermaid laughed. "You watch the back of the boat. Let me know if we're getting close to hitting anything."

With that, she took a firm grip on the bow and began to guide it towards the centre of the tunnel opening.

((OOC: And my professors are kind of totally awesome. whee ))

Katalina followed his instructions, her head tilted slightly to catch everything he said. Now and then she would make small adjustments on her own, but mostly she followed him - he was the eyes right now. She could not watch both the boat and where they were going. That was his job.

Tianara watched the back of the boat steadily, not so much as glancing around. Her eyes were locked on the stern, and she was barely even blinking. She never had to speak - the back of the boat seemed quite content to follow the front of it properly, without swinging or scratching itself on the sides of the tunnel.

When at last they made the entrance, Tianara breathed out in relief. "Hopefully no one brings a boat larger than yours, Joshua. They'll never get it in here," she remarked.

Katalina grinned. "We'll find another opening," she promised. "But this is just one of them."

The cavern widened out quite a bit once they were through the tunnel. And though it was dark, there were tiny points of light here and there that gave it a dim glow - just enough to see by. Nezik and Jinx were waiting for them by the far end of the cavern, where there was a small beach.

"There are other tunnels over there," Katalina explained. "That lead up into the main branches. At least we think so - none of us can exactly go and check." She smiled, a little sadly. "That will have to be your job."

She towed the boat up to the beach, eventually guiding it in with her hands until at last the bow bumped into the sand.

Nezik waved back. Jinx lifted a brow. Both were, in their way, equally open versions of nice to see you. When Joshua turned back to Katalina, she was looking off back into the darkness of the tunnel. Realizing he was speaking to her, she jerked and looked up quickly. "W-- oh. Yes. We thought it would be good. Will you two be all right for unloading it into...wherever it was you put the other things?"

She wondered how their girl had done in climbing the cliffs, but she wasn't planning to ask. That was something that could be talked about later, especially if it hadn't gone well.

Glancing at Tianara, she saw the mixture of a slight blush and a grin that told her that...yeah, no, it hadn't gone well. Not at all. That would be something to mark. Something maybe to tease her about later - she hadn't spent much time with the girl of late.

Tianara smiled shyly when Joshua offered her his hand. Taking it lightly in one of hers, she stepped off the boat and onto the beach. She was proud of herself - she was beginning to get the hang of this boating thing. "Okay," she said. "Are we going to try and find the cavern we were using before from here?"

Katalina smiled. "Not a problem. I'm going to leave Nezik here to guard the boat," she said pseudo-casually, noticing Jinx's quick alarmed look and Nezik's wide eyes. "I'm sure Jinx wouldn't mind coming with me to scout out other caverns. Need to see if there's space for boats bigger than yours, am I right, Jinx?" Not giving the young Siren a chance to respond, she said brightly, "Lovely, I knew you would agree. Let's go." Taking hold of Jinx's arm, the mermaid sped off, dragging the obviously-reluctant Siren in her wake.

Tianara, smothering a chuckle, turned her attention to Joshua's words. "That sounds like a pain. Much easier to scout first," she agreed, climbing over the rocks nimbly enough to meet him on the sandy area. "See you in a bit, Nezik. I hope Sorry doesn't scare Jinx too much."

It was hard to tell in the dark, but it looked like Nezik was blushing as he waved a goodbye. Smiling, Tianara joined Joshua as they went into the tunnels outside the cavern. "Should be easy enough to find the boat again," she said idly. "Telepathic broadcast should be clear - caves are good for that kind of thing. What do you think? Should we mark our trail or just trust it?"