Muriel wandered through the crashing waves, her shoes thrown over her shoulder and the bottom several inches of her layered dress thoroughly soaked. Not that she minded in the least, really. The sun had just dispersed its last few rays into the sky, and the moon was beginning to glow in its full glory. With the sky a cloudless canopy of winking stars overhead, it was perfect. There were others about, taking care of their business here or there, and as she reveled in the feel of the tides swirling about her ankles she hoped others would be as pleased as she was.

Amused at herself for that though, the woman chuckled, blue-green eyes dancing much like the silver light off the waves about her. Her hair had been let free of its usual thick braid and hung nearly to her waist in unruly ringlets that moved gently with the salty breeze. Few things did she love more than the ocean in all of its blessings and curses, and even those she might renounce at times like this. She glanced back as a light appeared further up the beach, moving steadily towards her.

Who could could be using a lantern or torch to see in this lovely moonlight? Someone, she hoped, with a decent reason for ruining the night vision of all those around them.

Yna ambled forth blithely through the clear gloom of the night sky, the fresh, saliferous scent of the sea and the comfortable drifts of air that washed over her adding to her silent joyfulness. Five children traipsed in her wake, aged roughly seven to eleven years old; two girls and three boys. They looked fairly exasperated, not used to making long airings at nighttime. Yna couldn't believe that their parents had kept them from the outside world for so long. The eldest of them, a shy boy named Rog, had never travelled outside the village palisade before, had never seen the sea, the stars, or the moon in all their glory. The young magician somehow blamed his parents, but then again, such affectionate protectiveness was something she'd never really known in childhood.

Her emerald eyes twinkled beneath the large hat that completely covered her auburn hair, her tanned face lit up by the soothed light atop her performer's wand. It rather flustered the beautiful, argentate sashes cast down by the ever more abundant lights in the sky. However, the quintet of infants she guided was afraid of the dark even when safely encumbered by the confines of their sleeping quarters; let alone wandering over the beach at night. But they would learn as soon as they reached the shoreline. They would be there soon, for Yna already heard the sound of crashing waves upon the porous Eastern sands.

The children suddenly seemed to lose all signs of fatigue. All of them carefully peeked from behind her cinnamon and green attire, a little spooked perhaps, but curiosity seemed to eventually overcome their fear of the dark. The glimmer of the nocturnal sea met their eyes, and she heard sighs and small shrieks of awe behind her. Something caught her eye. As Rog tried to ran past her, she suddenly swung out both arms to either side of her body, long pieces of brown fiber dropping down from her bracers, blocking the childrens' path to the glistening waters. A look of alertness formed upon her face. Someone was already there.

Through the years, she'd learnt to be cautious at all times, especially when outside in after hours. She was not skilled enough to inflict hurt upon enemies, and with five youngsters depending on her, escape was not an option. She slowly walked forward, putting on her performer's smile, the children following behind her without question, as though they sensed something was amiss and were in need of a leader to follow. Yna quickly defined the humanoid contours as those of a young woman, standing in the water to her shins. She felt somewhat relieved; she could tell that this was not a bandit standing in their way.

"Good evening, milady," she spoke in friendly tone and with a now genuine smile. While she addressed her, one of her hands grabbed the rim of her hat and she bent over, her phosphorescent staff pointing straight to her right; a perfect curtsy before she stood upright once more. "Come to enjoy the silvery glory of the sea as well, have you?"

Muriel laughed, though it was not unkindly, for what water elemental would not be where they felt the most content on a night like this and yet how could she possibly know unless told.

"Yes, as only one of the sea can."

She studied the woman in emerald and cinnomen only for a moment before she smiled back and bowed in return, knowing she must make a somewhat comic show with the waves rushing about her ankels, her shoes over one shoulder, and her wild hair flowing haphazardly with the night breeze. Straightening back up, she noticed a few smaller figures gathering behind the woman with her wide brimmed hat and staff, young faces peaking out from the edges of her form to stare at her and the sea curiously.

"A good evening to you as well, and to your young charges. Whom may I have the pleasure of addressing on this exquisite of eventides?"

She ambled in from the waves a little bit, closing the distance between them by about a third to make speaking somewhat easier. She knew this group wouldn't harm her, the woman couldn't afford to with the children under her care most likely, but she also knew she was a stranger in their land, and it would be poor manners not to try and put them at ease as quickly as possible. So she smiled, and keep her movements slow and relaxed as she linked her hands behind her back. Children were always amusing creatures, and she always loved a good laugh.

Yna quickly took a liking to the young woman that slowly strode closer. She seemed to breathe out the calm of the nocturnal, briny ocean she stepped through, and though faced with a complete stranger, the children showed no intention of fleeing in terror. In fact, Rog stepped out from behind the young illusionist and viewed the newcomer admiringly. The others quickly followed. And when the shoeless woman spoke, she appeared to be sermonizing the youngsters as much as Yna. Her words appealed to the magician, with a tinge of poetry woven throughout them, almost artistically.

"I am known as Yna Oculi Viridi, a simple illusionist, dear madam, but I prefer it when people just call me Yna," she responded to the question posed, as she knew that the children - allegedly mesmerized - were too shy to do so. "And these fine folk are Rog, Elli, Kel, Dane, and Ana." Her wand pointed to each of the children in friendly fashion while she enumerated all names from eldest to youngest.

"And excuse me for asking, miss, but would you please allow me your name. I daresay formalities such as "lady" are rather unyielding and cold compared to this lovely evening." Audacious, Yna knew, but she doubted that she was dealing with snobbish, city-bound nobility at the moment. Thereby, her words did not contain a trace of lie; she had doused her wand, so that the moonlight could wash over them, allowing almost clear view of colors and contours. A breathtaking sight to behold indeed.

Muriel chuckled at herself in surprise, though she was glad the light had been doused so her eyes could once more adjust to the glowing moonlight from overhead.

"How fiendishly rude of me, as I am hardly a lady and unlikely to ever be one, and it hardly lends itself to friendly conversation. I am Muriel, an amused, wandering elemental."

Bowing again, she did it a rather foppish fashion, earning a few quiet giggles from the smaller ones. Smiling at them openly, she righted herself and continued in a gradiouso manner than aluded more to noble halls rich with gold and jewels rather than the beautiful night scape that surrounded them. Still, the sense of irony would hopefully not be lost upon her audience as she was rather amused with her performance and wished for others to join with her in her mirth.

"It is a most honorable pleasure to meet you Yna, and even more so these fine young lads and lovely young lasses who follow you. What may you be doing among the waves this fine evening, my friends? It is not oft that I find company out on the sea at night."

Eyes alight with amusement, she stopped a good yard away, leaving them room incase she found herself being asked to move on. She would understand, being a stranger, but she did hope these young people would not be adverse to amusing her for a few hours, it was rare that she was given a chance to laugh with those still in their childhood these days. And they laughed the best of all.

An elemental?...

The word struck Yna with a slight sense of confoundment. Then again, the sun had set, and Muriel of the water seemed as much a young woman as did Yna herself. It did explain the harmonious empathy with the sea she'd perceived in the woman, however, and her words were kind. She looked down at the children; they returned her glance, abashed, but also inquiring. It made her slightly uncomfortable. During her travels, she'd seen more of the world than Arda's average inhabitant, but the elementals remained an imperforate mystery to her.

"Thank you, Muriel," she responded, smiling now that she'd claimed some sense of familiarity with the woman. "I am sorry, but neither the children nor myself have ever seen an elemental before; forgive me my lack of knowledge. Let us join you in the water."

Yna quickly unclasped her boots and, mimicking Muriel, hung them loosely over her shoulder. She gestured the children to do the same, beckoned them to join her in the briny tide. They did so, faltering, slow. Yna shivered as her skin imbibed the cold, salty fluids, stepping next to the amicable young woman. Finally, she could see Muriel's eyes. It was strange; she herself identified with her glistening, viridian orbs and it seemed to be the same with the elemental, as Muriel's pale blue eyes told a story of friendly waves, the tinge of green representing the enormous amount of life one could find beneath the cerulean shell of the oceans.

Rog and his friends tread next to them, splashing merrily, becoming ever happier as they got used to the water's temperature and the strange, meandering feeling of vague waves rushing over their feet. Yna had wanted to tell them something about the sea. But here, standing next to one that could literally claim a maritime heritage, her knowledge seemed infinitely small. While the moon ensconsced them and the water swirled around the group in silence, an idea entered the young magician's mind. She turned to face the slender elemental.

"Muriel, please..." she hesitated. "Please, could you tell Rog and the others about the sea? I would do it myself, but you seem so much more... in tune with these waters."

Muriel chuckled again, shaking her head to dispel any tension they might feel.

"Please, there is nothing to forgive, we aren't exactly common creatures, and I am one of those whom is most often confused as being a human."

Turning back to the sea, she watched in quiet amusement as the younger ones began to wade around her, one in particular making the funniest squeaks the first time the waves rolled about her ankels. She glanced as the other woman drew beside her, mimicking her placement of shoes over her shoulder. The illusionist was honest and kind, two things one didn't always find in other magicians, but the elemental was glad for their company on this fine night. When the question came, though, she was somewhat unprepared for it.

"Muriel, please...Please, could you tell Rog and the others about the sea? I would do it myself, but you seem so much more... in tune with these waters."

Muriel looked at her, raising her brows slightly as she smiled a secret smile with the corners of her mouth.

"Friend Yna, I could sooner hand you the moon and make it bow to your will than tell you all there is to know about the sea. But I suppose in our short time here I can share with these younglings a little part they might understand and remember later in their lives."

Considering where to start, tapped her fingers on her chin before her eyes lit with an inner thought and she asked,

"Can any of you younglings tell me what it is that makes sea water different from the water in a lake or a river?"

Yna looked upon the infants with a friendly smile, letting them know that it did not matter if they did not know. She herself was quite certain that she had the correct answer, but she would not spoil the start of Muriel's story by spamming her knowledge around mindlessly. The three smallest children had bent over, playing through the waves with their small fingers, probably wondering how they could have ever missed such a large expanse of water; perhaps realizing how secluded they'd been. However, they appeared to be taken by great interest, moreso than by fear. Rog and Elli looked into Muriel's eyes, silent, not knowing the answer. The magician was just about to give the children a hint when she heard coughing behind Elli. Her heart seemed to miss a beat.

"Blerghhhh... I can't drink it. It's salt!" the young girl named Ana cried out, still coughing from the small sip she'd taken. Amazed, the other children dipped their fingers into the water and tasted the saliferous fluid cautiously. Rog's eyes lighted up. He looked at Muriel and smiled.

"The water we use at home isn't salt, and that water comes from a well or a river," the boy spoke triumphantly. All youngsters nodded in complete agreement. "Why is the water salt, miss Muriel?" a curious voice came from behind the eldest boy, this time originating from Kel's lips. All children looked up at the elemental. More questions were burning in their eyes, but Yna knew they had been brought up politely, and that they would pose their requests one at a time.

"Ah, now that is a tough one..."

Steepling her fingers as she began to explain, she had a rather thoughtful expression that seemed to stay with her throughout the entire thing.

"According to the legends the seas are salty because they are the tears of one of our gods, so great was their sorrow they filled up the oceans and left them forever with a bitter tinge. There are others, though, alchemists and the like who have another explination."

Her smile widened as she went on, warming up nicely to her subject.

"The ocean extends very, very far down the farther out you get, some say to places so dark that not even the sun reaches it. Down there, far beneath the depths there are vents that spew forth great densities of salt and other minerals. That is why it is not fit for humans or other creatures to drink, there is too much else in it that is not good for them. There is another theory that the salt come from the erosion of rocks into beaches, and the salt is absorbed from the rocks, but that goes into the theory of erosion. However the salt came to be, though, it is an important part of our seas. If not for the salt and other such minerals, there are a wealth of creatures and plantlife that would not exist in our world today."

Pausing there, she looked over the small faces, especially the elder three, to make sure they understood what she said. She thought they had kept up fairly well, hopefully they would let her know if that was not the case.

"But does anyone know why only oceans and seas are salty? Why aren't rivers and lakes salty as well?"